Thumbnail image courtesy of GoFundMe
Updated at 7:33 p.m. Friday to remove the address.
Ryan Cooley has begun a new chapter in his career, but he hopes his friends and former neighbors can help right a wrong that occurred just before he and his family left Del Norte County.
Cooley, the former Border Coast Regional Airport Authority director, said the home he and his family rented on Joaquin Street was burgled. The perpetrators forced open a sliding glass door and made off with everything they were going to take to their new home in Keene, New Hampshire.
“Specifically clothes, laptops, birth certificates that were in our safe, our marriage license, a longboard (and) cash that was in the safe for vehicle delivery. Even toothbrushes and razors,” Cooley told Redwood Voice Community News via text message on Thursday.
The burglary took place between 9:30 p.m. Feb. 26 and before 8:30 a.m. Feb. 27. The day before he and his family had given away blankets and towels and sold their excess furniture cheap, including most of the beds.
Not wanting to sleep on the floor ahead of an 18-hour flight with four different connections, Cooley said he and his family got a hotel room, leaving most of the items they were going to travel with at the house.
“We knew we were coming back the next day — the first day of not having the house occupied to do the walk-through with the landlord,” he said. “My wife made it back first with our daughters and oldest son and texted me and said, ‘Um, someone broke into the house. All of our stuff is gone…’”
The former BCRAA airport director said he’d been working at his new job for about two months to save up for shipping and moving costs. This includes buying plane tickets for his wife and kids and moving his animals.
By the time he was ready to collect his family, Cooley said he had everything purchased, including winter clothing. The cash in his safe was for the vehicle delivery. Now that they’re gone, Cooley said he’s started a GoFundMe Campaign.
After about a week of being active, the fundraiser has raised $2,887 and has an $8,000 goal.
“We literally flew out with the clothes on our back,” he said. “And t-shirts and jeans aren’t going to cut it out here when it’s snowing and 2 degrees outside. The GoFundMe is to help us get back on our feet, to help lessen the burden of not having anything when we first got here.”
Cooley found a deputy already on scene when he arrived at the house. It’s suspected that the burglars may have been inside for an hour-and-a-half to two hours. They also drove off with a $13,000 heavy equipment trailer that belonged to a neighbor, Cooley said.
Cooley did have renters insurance, but he’s not sure if it was in effect when the burglary took place.
“It’s quite possible it could have technically taken place on a day the house was considered uninhabited,” he said. “We’re waiting for law enforcement to determine when that happened.
Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott said his deputies are still investigating the burglary and that they have some “pretty good evidence.” He said he was reluctant to say more because he didn’t want to hurt the investigation.
“A very very large majority of burglaries take place when people are on vacation or are out of town,” Scott said. “You think you’re safe and you leave, but someone has noticed your pattern is different and you’re gone. Often it’s someone from the neighborhood or maybe it’s someone that did some work in the neighborhood.”
Though he and his family are still reckoning with the way their time in Del Norte ended, Cooley said their new neighbors have helped them feel supported. He said they’ve helped by donating winter clothing for his kids.
Still, while he hopes to find the people who are responsible for the burglary, Cooley says he needs his important documents back.
“If they can reach out anonymously and send the birth certificates and marriage certificate back, that’s really all I care about,” he said.
