Devastated owner Chris McGuire said it contained “thousands of dollars worth” of family jewellery, inherited from his father who recently died.
McGuire, who lives in Burwood, bought the caravan a year ago with a portion of the money he’d inherited, ending his days of couch surfing.
After living in the caravan for the best part of a year, McGuire moved into a rental and put it up for sale.
McGuire headed to Oamaru last weekend to compete in a race. His friend Isaiah Van Duinen was with him when he made a shocking discovery upon his return.
“I told Chris, ‘Mate, your caravan is gone’, and his eyes nearly came out of his head,” said Van Duinen.
Photos of the caravan were handed to the police and posted on social media.
Within an hour, they’d received a tip the caravan had been spotted in Christchurch’s red zone region, being towed by a white van.
But the pair were unable to substantiate the claim.
McGuire had largely cleared out his caravan due to his intentions to sell it, but kept his sentimental belongings inside by accident - now he faces never seeing them again.
“It’s quite hard,” said McGuire.
“There were film photos of my Dad in there, family jewellery - just stuff you can’t replace.”
He’s confused how the caravan was taken given he’d put secure wheel clamps on it.
Van Duinen said his friend had invested heavily in expensive clamps to keep the caravan safe. He said they’d been told by those who sold them that as long as the clamps were used there’d be little chance of theft.
“They say: ‘This stuff is built to last, it never breaks’. Well this hasn’t saved it from possibly an axe grinder, has it?”
McGuire wants the thieves to consider their actions and make the right choice - in the hope he can be reunited with his irreplaceable possessions.
“I’d appreciate the caravan being given back,” he said.
“[I would say to the thieves] if you did want to buy it, let me know - if you’re stuck with money we can organise something. But theft is not the answer.”
Police have confirmed they received information from McGuire about the stolen caravan but have filed the matter due to a lack of lines of enquiry.
