Hunters Helped Police in Wyoming come to rescue after trio's gear stolen
Two Butler County guys and a friend from Venango County traveled more than 1,500 miles to Wyoming for a hunting trip only to have thousands of dollars worth of their gear stolen. But through the kindness of strangers, the trip was salvaged.
Hunter Lefever, 22, of Connoquenessing Township; Daniel Toomey, 23, of Summit Township; and Jake Meals, 21, of Oil City did what most people do when faced with a theft — they called the police.
But the situation took an unexpected turn once the authorities got involved.
On Sept. 14, the group checked into a Days Inn in Casper, Wyo., and locked their vehicle which contained all their hunting gear.The next day, the group discovered that someone had broken into the vehicle and had stolen about $6,000 worth of hunting gear that they planned on using to bow-hunt elk in the Big Horn Mountains.The group reported the theft to the Casper Police Department, which is still investigating. Nobody has been arrested for the crime.“Burglaries are a common occurrence here, unfortunately,” said Rebekah Ladd, public information officer for the Casper Police Department. “But what's interesting here is that an email went out from the officer (who) took the call to the entire department and essentially asked everyone to lend hunting gear to these guys.”Ladd said that she and the others could tell the three tourists were good people who could be trusted to return any borrowed gear.“They seemed pretty humbled and overwhelmed by the whole thing,” Ladd said. “I'm a mom and I had that mom sense and I could tell they were good kids. They were shocked that this happened to them — they drive 23 hours and this huge devastating thing happened and then there was this surprise.”The request was an easy one for a department filled with hunters, Ladd said.“Here in Wyoming, it's a big hunting state, so a lot of officers are avid hunters. Around this time, they take turns with vacations going hunting. We even have a handful of hunters at the police department (who) do guided hunting tours for veterans and others,” Ladd said. “We have a lot of hunters with a lot of gear. So, they just went home and grabbed extra stuff.”While the young men were trying to figure out what to do without their hunting and camping gear, Officer John Ramsey, who responded to the theft report, called them.“He told us he sent out a mass email. And he said, 'Come to the station,' and we were like, 'OK, that's kind of weird,'” Lefever said. “We were there for quite a few hours while they were running home and gathering stuff and they ended up throwing (in) enough camping gear to use.”By the time the group was ready to resume their hunting trip with the borrowed gear, including two bows and arrows, Lefever said the police were “kind of like old friends, almost.”
“They kept saying that they felt bad and this wasn't an accurate representation of Wyoming,” he said “This was our first time out West. They were telling us where to go and stuff like that.”By the time they had loaded up with the new gear, the sun was setting and the group made their way toward Buffalo, a nearby city, in the hopes of getting to their campsite before dusk. While en route, Lefever said a state trooper pulled them over.“So, I was like, 'Here we go again,'” Lefever said. “He pulls us over. We explain what's happening. And he said he used to be a hunting guide and he said to follow him and before we know it we had maps laid out on his hood and went over the game plan.”Before leaving the group, Lefever said the trooper gave them his phone number and told them to call him if there were any problems.“I think all the cops out there are super nice,” Lefever said.The rest of the trip was mostly uneventful, he said, who enjoyed the wide vistas of the mountains as they attempted to hunt elk.Lefever has hunted mostly in Western Pennsylvania.“It was very different. We're used to hunting whitetails, which is more of an ambush thing,” Lefever said. “Out there, you have to move toward elk. You don't know where they'll go. It's tiring cause you have to follow the herd and beat them on the mountain.“It was a humbling experience. We were all dead tired at the end of the day.”When the trio returned home, Lefever's mother, Sandy Lefever said she wanted to return the favor by buying the police lunch. She called a local diner, Eggington's, and ordered for the department. But when she went to pay, the owners declined to take her money and instead footed the bill themselves.Ladd said that since then, various family members of the hunting group have called to thank the police department members.“In law enforcement, our entire goal is to help people and it's fun to do that on a personal level and see that kindness reciprocated,” Ladd said. “We want to show that cops want to generally help people, and we can build strong communication when there's appreciation on both sides.”
