My brother-in-law and I went camping at the Iron City Campground the weekend of 28-29 Jul 2007. Sat night (28th) somebody came through the campground and stole several coolers from the various campsites, including my brother-in-law's cooler. We were speaking with the campground host the next morning, and a few different campers (including my brother-in-law) spotted a white full-sized truck driving slowly through the campground late at night and randomly stopping. Our host spoke to at least one of the other hosts at the nearby campgrounds (the three campgrounds close to the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs), and was informed that this same thing occurs every full moon at the campgrounds in that area. We then spoke to the owners of the small general store in St. Elmo, and they stated that this has been an ongoing problem. They actually caught the white truck driving through town late that night on their surveillance cameras, and indicated that they thought they might know who it was. They were going to turn this information over to the authorities.
Our two families were again camping at the Iron City Campground a month later (25-26 Aug). My brother-in-law arrived late on Fri, and by the time we got his family unpacked and we all went to bed, it was approximately 11:30 pm. Just before they went to bed, my brother-in-law and his wife spotted a white truck slowly driving through the campground. Our coolers weren't stolen that night, but the individuals camping right next to us had their cooler stolen. I'm not sure if anybody else in the campground (or neighboring campgrounds) suffered the same consequences that night, but I would venture to say some people probably did. There was no host present this time around to relay information between the campsites.
We spoke to the store owners the next day, asking about the outcome from the month before, and they said the authorities never came. We also spoke to a Forest Service ranger, and he indicated that the stolen coolers was a well-known problem in that area. That night we figured there was no way these thieves would have the gumption to come back and hit the same campground, with people at a heightened sense of security. Regardless, we placed our coolers right next to our tents--mine were actually pressed up against the wall of my tent. Late that night I was awakened, thinking I had heard a sound. I turned on my flashlight in the tent, to see if I happened to hear footsteps run away. There was nothing, so I went back to bed. Approximately 15 minutes later I thought I heard faint footsteps and a shadow pass by my coolers. I immediately jumped up, unzipped the tent, and shined my flashlight around the camp. I saw and heard nothing, but it took me a few moments to get out, which would give somebody adequate time to hide. My brother-in-law heard me and also came out, at which time he noticed that his two coolers and a large food container were missing.
We immediately headed for his vehicle, at which time we noticed one of his coolers and the food container sitting on the road. We took off in his SUV looking for the thieves, and came across a WHITE EXTENDED-CAB TOYOTA TUNDRA parked on the side of the road. It somewhat looked out of place, since it wasn't in the immediate vicinity of any campsite. We shined our flashlights in the cab and didn't see anybody. We then quickly scanned the truck bed looking for coolers. There was a ton of clutter (clothes, food items, etc.) strewn about, which seemed a little odd, but we moved on not wanting to poke around some innocent camper's truck.
We drove to the other three campgrounds and quickly drove through each, looking for a white truck. No luck. We then headed back to our campground, figuring the thieves were "trapped" in the St. Elmo area (we would've seen their vehicle if they had driven out of the valley towards Buena Vista). We didn't encounter a single vehicle, nor did we see any white trucks parked in the St. Elmo/Alpine area that matched the description. We got back to our campground and the Tundra was gone. So there's an extremely high likelihood that the Tundra belonged to the thieves, since every other camper in our campground was asleep (i.e. all the campsites were completely dark when we left and when we returned).
We briefly checked in with my brother-in-law's wife. She thought that I had remained behind when my brother-in-law took off in the SUV, because she heard somebody walking around after their SUV had left. So, the thieves were still in our campsite when we left! My brother-in-law then took off to look for them some more, driving around the town of St. Elmo and partially driving up Tincup Pass. He had no luck. While he was gone I found his second cooler, abandoned in the woods off to the side of our campsite. But his beer and some bottled water were missing.
The next morning we found the beer and bottled water further away, abandoned in some bushes. But my brother-in-law also discovered that several food items were missing from their cooler and food container. We told the campers next door about what had happened (the ones that had their cooler stolen Fri night), and that's when it dawned on them: they were out riding their ATVs Sat, when they spotted 3 YOUNG MEN APPROXIMATELY 20 YEARS OLD driving in a white Tundra. They passed these men on Tincup Pass, and were fairly certain they recognized their cooler in the back of the truck.
If something isn't done, somebody might get hurt. Many campers take guns with them for protection. Upon talking with some of these campers, they indicated that they wouldn't have hesitated to shoot if they had caught these individuals. I realize it might just be all talk, but you never know. Plus, I obviously startled the thieves when I woke up and they were still hiding in our campsite. What would have happened if we had spotted them and attempted to detain them, which we most certainly would've tried to do? If this has been an ongoing problem, which presumably means that dozens and dozens of people have had their coolers stolen, I would imagine the dollar amount (in loses) is now well over $1000--not only the cost of the coolers themselves, but also the cost of the large amounts of food and beverages inside.
We spoke to a few other campers on Sun. This really bothers people, because they go camping to get away from it all and relax. People trust each other out camping and shouldn't have to worry about crime at these small campgrounds. Obviously the problem is rampant if we've camped there a total of two times, and we were victimized both times. But I'm sure most people don't even bother to report it. It would seem like a simple "stakeout" would've caught these thieves a long time ago.
I can't imagine there are a tremendous amount of white extended cab Tundras in the Buena Vista/Chaffee County area. Especially one that is likely owned by a young man approximately 20 years old. The best we could tell, it was FAIRLY PLAIN and AT LEAST A FEW YEARS OLD. There were NO OBVIOUS DENTS on the DRIVER'S SIDE. I sure wish we would've realized what we had at the time and waited by the truck and/or got a license plate number.
Please do your best to spread the word and hopefully bring these guys to justice! If nothing else, make sure you lock up your cooler in your vehicle before going to bed.
Thank you.
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