Van stolen from Inter-Faith Treasure House

The Inter-Faith Treasure House is “suffering” without its primary food pick-up van, which was stolen on Thursday, April 26, according to the Washougal nonprofit organization’s executive director.

“That van was very important (to us),” Nancy Wilson said. “It’s been very challenging (without it). But we’ll work around it, find ways to carry on. We’re looking for (people) to volunteer their rigs, and we’re using our smaller van when it’s not taking food to the schools.”

The van — a white 2001 Ford Econoline E-250 — was parked in an “unsecured parking (lot) on the east side of the building” when it was stolen, according to an incident report written by Washougal Police Department officer Jermaine Burchfield.

“It was here when we left work on (April 25), so we figure it was probably taken at night, probably between midnight and 2 a.m.,” said Wilson, adding that thieves previously took a catalytic converter, gas and a license plate from the van. “I was so upset (when I heard that it was stolen). We provide over 400 families food a month — that’s over 1,000 people that depend on us for their food every month. They didn’t just steal from us. They stole from the whole community.”

Wilson told Burchfield she “was unsure” if the van’s doors were locked at the time the incident occurred, according to the report.

“Nancy told me no keys were stolen during the incident since she still had in her possession both sets of keys,” Burchfield wrote. “(She) stated the Treasure House had surveillance cameras … but none in the area where the alleged incident occurred. During our conversation, (she) told me (that the) Econoline was not able to be tracked via GPS.”

Burchfield eventually tracked down security footage from the Victorico’s restaurant next door, but found no leads.

“The footage shows one lone subject walking westbound on ‘C ‘Street in front of Victorico’s,” the report states. “The subject is seen walking around the van for several minutes and looking in the windows. About five minutes later, the van is seen driving eastbound on ‘C’ Street. It is clear from the video the subject seen walking down ‘C’ Street is the one who stole the van.”

The subject, “likely male,” wore a gray hooded sweatshirt, according to WPD Chief Wendi Steinbronn.

“It’s too far away and unclear to determine any identifying characteristics like gender, race, age, etc.,” she added. “(Burchfield) also checked with the gas station next door to Victorico’s to see if the suspect was possibly inside the convenience store first, (but) they had no footage.”

Burchfield recommended that the WPD suspend the case pending further investigative leads, according to the report.

Food bank raising funds for new van

The Inter-Faith Treasure House used the van to pick up food from the Clark County Food Bank and local grocers to give to people in need. The van could carry 2,000 pounds of food, according to Wilson.

“We got our major food deliveries with that (van) because we could put two whole pallets in it,” Wilson said. “And it was the only vehicle that we had that could pull our utility trailer. Sometimes the loads from the Clark County Food Bank were big enough that we hooked on our trailer (onto the van) to get double the load.”

Wilson believes that the thieves will break the van down for parts, or possibly “live in it.”

“I bet it’s long gone,” she said. “We were even thinking about driving over to Delta Park (in Portland) or some of those places that you hear about, but I don’t want to go over there. You know it’s been stripped. You know the catalytic converter is gone. You know the gas is totally gone. You know that the tires — they were nice, new tires — are gone. I’m sure we wouldn’t get it (back) in one piece. And I’m sure it would be something we wouldn’t want to see.”

Wilson hopes to raise $10,000 from donations and/or a Camas Washougal Community Chest emergency grant, to purchase a new van.

“The community is very receptive to the Treasure House,” she said. “They know we’ve been here over 50 years. They know what we do. It’s not like we’re the new kids on the block (and there’s a question if we’re) going to be here next week or whatever. We’ve been here for 50 years and we feed people.”

The organization will likely park its new van in the same location, according to Wilson.

“We use the warehouse for food and don’t have additional space to park vehicles,” she said. “I would suggest anti-theft devices. We have parked our vehicles out there for over 20 years and this is our first theft. We will most likely install additional cameras.”

To donate funds, send a check to Inter-Faith Treasure House, 91 “C” St., Washougal; or visit ifth.org and/or gofundme.com/f/help-treasure-house-buy-a-new-van.

“This is an emergency,” Wilson said. “This is not something we’ve planned. We have to have a van. I mean, it’s not like a luxury. We have to have it.”