Brothers' Icehouse Stolen From Driveway
UPDATE: The Wyoming Police Department said Friday evening that the icehouse was recovered in St. Paul and returned to the owner.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A north metro area man hopes to find his icehouse after it was stolen right out of his own driveway on Wednesday afternoon.
Justin Prokash said he and his brother saved up for years and were finally able to buy their icehouse a few months ago.
"There is some sentimental value in that icehouse for us," Prokash said.
The two of them put hours of work into improving and customizing the icehouse.
"We put in a microwave with a custom shelf, a ceiling fan, and custom rattle reels that light up when a fish bites it," Prokash said.
The icehouse usually sat locked up on the driveway of the Prokash family home in Wyoming, but the brother lost their lock last weekend while ice fishing out on Lake Mille Lacs.
"The icehouse was only unlocked from Sunday to Wednesday," Prokash said.
Prokash's brother bought a new lock and came home on Wednesday to assemble it when he discovered the icehouse was gone.
An unsuspecting neighbor told Wyoming police he stopped to help two men who were having trouble moving the icehouse on Wednesday afternoon.
"He helped pull them out of the ditch to steal it," Prokash said.
Prokash does not suspect the neighbor of any wrongdoing. He told WCCO the icehouse cost $15,000, including all of the customized elements.
As of Friday, nearly 17,000 people had shared Prokash's post, including pictures of his icehouse and how it was stolen.
Prokash hopes the social media attention will help bring the thieves to justice.
"The feedback from the fishing community has just been excellent," Prokash said. "It is really uplifting to know there are good people out there with good hearts."
Prokash describes the icehouse he and his brother Jedd bought as having a dent in the front right above the propane tank and a lot of custom work on the inside, including a microwave and ceiling fan.
The neighbor described the men who stole the icehouse as two young men in an older '90s model black Dodge pickup truck.
The neighbor said the truck had rusts on the tailgate and a white Harley Davidson sticker on the back corner of the windshield.
