On the day before Thanksgiving, a St. Helens business owner discovered her trailer and thousands of dollars in inventory had been stolen from her front yard.
OREGON, USA — A woman who launched her business last year is starting over after a thief stole the trailer that housed her mobile boutique.
Karisa Albertson is the owner of Mini Munchkin LLC, a mobile children’s boutique. Albertson, a stay-at-home mom of two, said the business was her dream.
“I wanted something flexible, where I could attend pop-up events and help provide for my family,” she said. “My whole vision was having a mobile boutique to be able to set up and go to pop-up events super easily.”
Last summer, Albertson bought a horse trailer for the business. She had attended only two events before the trailer was stolen on Nov. 26, the day before Thanksgiving.
Albertson said she and her husband were awake during the early morning hours when the theft occurred but did not hear anything. They discovered the trailer was missing around 5:30 a.m., when her husband went outside.
“We had a lock on the hitch of the trailer, so you wouldn’t be able to just pull up and hook up. They actually had to break the lock off to hook up and then go. We also had blocks under the tires, which they threw aside before driving off,” she said.
Albertson said the trailer contained clothes, toys, books, blankets and more, including some clothing she had made herself.
“It was completely set up. I had my display racks in there, my clothing racks,” she said.
Although the theft happened about a month and a half ago, she said she decided to create a GoFundMe this week.
“We just put so much work into that trailer. I was trying not to lose hope that everything was completely gone, and that something would eventually turn up,” she said.
Albertson said she has posted about the theft on multiple Facebook pages and even offered a reward, but has had no luck locating the trailer.
She said thefts in her area of town are not uncommon.
“They definitely are not afraid to just come straight up to your house and take your stuff, which is unfortunate,” she said.
Albertson hopes to use the GoFundMe donations to repurchase equipment and inventory so she can restart her business in time for a business event she is co-hosting on March 21 at the Columbia County Fairgrounds.
St. Helens police said the trailer has not been recovered. Anyone with information about the theft is asked to contact the department at (503) 397-1521.
The trailer is described as having shelving and laminate flooring, with a diamond plate steel panel covering the lower half of the exterior.