‘Kind of pathetic’: Thief steals from Lincoln family that lost home in fire

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – In the early morning of Feb. 18, a Lincoln family lost their house in a fire.

Although no one was injured, their home near 25th and J streets and almost everything in it was destroyed.

On Monday morning, the items they did have left were stolen out of their garage.

Nick Downs, whose brother owns the home, told Channel 8 it’s truly devastating that someone could do something like this.

“I just think it’s kind of pathetic that someone would cause more devastation for the family after dealing with what they just went through,” he said.

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He said the family is just working to move on, but this makes a tough situation even worse.

“They’re living with family right now until they settle into a new home,” he said. “But right now, I know my niece is kind of heartbroken that her porcelain dolls that she’s collected over the years are just gone.

Downs said some of the items missing include tools, power tools, a table saw, furniture and electronics.

Although some of these were not sentimental, he said it’s still awful losing what little survived the fire.

“That’s just some of the stuff that’s been salvaged and left in the garage for storage until they could move it out,” he said. “But they’re all pretty heartbroken right now.”

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Still, the family is relying on each other for support.

“Just makes them stronger, closer together,” Downs said. “They just realized that with something this devastating, family and friends are always going to stick together, and this is how you know who your real friends and family are. They’re getting by, and they’re just moving forward, just doing the best that they can every day.”

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