Nearly $30,000 Worth Of Vintage Toys Stolen In Longmont
LONGMONT, Colo. (CBS4) - A collector in Longmont says tens of thousands of dollars worth of his vintage toys and rare action figures were stolen. Twenty-two years ago Mark Vanzee started collecting various toys, everything from hot wheels, to iconic cartoon characters.
"I always just loved the toys from the 80s, toys that I grew up with," Vanzee said.
A large portion of his massive collection is made up of G.I. Joe memorabilia.
"The G.I. Joe is a pretty hot market right now. The 80s genre stuff is starting to come back around and soar in value," he said.
With items from floor to ceiling, room was running out of room at home, forcing Vanzee to store some of his vintage lunchboxes, rare action figures and some valuable G.I. Joe toys in what he thought was a secure storage unit.
"It's pretty devastating when I went down there and the gentleman opened up the door for me just to see all that stuff gone and empty like that. I was mad and angry at the same time," he said.
Longmont police say it was a clear break-in on Feb. 16 at around 10:30 a.m. at the mini storage near 3rd Avenue and Hover Street.
Vanzee estimates the loss of nearly $30,000.
"A loose aircraft carrier can go for, I don't know, $900 to $1,2000 loose and then in the box, $3,000 upwards."
Vanzee had three in the storage room.
"I'm not worried about the money, I just want my stuff back," he said.
Now he's asking for the public's help in spotting any of those stolen items.
If they see anything that looks too good to be true, it probably it is," Vanzee said.
If you know anything about the theft you can call Longmont police at (303) 651-8555.