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SPANISH FORK — Storage unit thieves have struck again. This time, the burglars stole the livelihood of a Spanish Fork couple, who depended on the contents to make ends meet.
Louise Ann Stowell is an artist. Through a very intricate process, she creates glass beads that later become bracelets, necklaces and other jewelry worth up to thousands of dollars.
"I've been collecting beads from all over the world since I was about 13," Stowell said. "So a lot of the stuff that I had was vintage. I couldn't replace it."
I've been collecting beads from all over the world since I was about 13. So a lot of the stuff that I had was vintage. I couldn't replace it.
–Louise Ann Stowell, burglary victim
On Tuesday, she and her husband visited their storage unit and found it ransacked. All of her tools for making the beads were gone.
"They took all my torches, they took my strikers, they took all of the rods that I make the beads with," Stowell said. "They took my mandrils, which is the little skinny rod that the glass is wrapped on."
Stowell and her husband, Terry, have been going through some financial difficulties, so this theft is especially hard. The couple recently declared bankruptcy and put the items in storage while they moved into a trailer.
Once they were settled, Stowell planned to use her art to help pay bills. Now, because of the bankruptcy, they can't claim their losses through insurance.
When they reported the theft to Spanish Fork Police, they were told the report would be given to area pawn shops, but the Stowells would have to help too.
"They told us that we would need to do a lot of footwork ourselves too, because of swap meets, yard sales, all of that type of stuff," Stowell said.
The property manager at On-Guard Storage said the storage yard has nine cameras, mainly at the end of each aisle. Owners are still reviewing the video.
"That kind of surprises me that they don't watch it a little bit closer than that," Stowell said.
For now, the Stowells need to supplement their income. As for the stolen property, the best they can hope for is someone will return it.
