Imperative Gear Stolen From Volunteer Alpine Rescue Team Member
DENVER (CBS4) - Being a part of the Alpine Rescue Team is a tough job. It's a volunteer position, you have to provide your own gear and you have to be prepared to help someone injured or stranded any time of day and in any condition.
Despite all of that, it's something Chris Silkwood loves, and he's always ready to go.
"I leave my gear in my truck because I'm always on call" he said.
Wednesday morning, he was leaving his house in the Platt Park area when he made a frustrating discovery.
"I looked and I saw the back driver's side window of my truck was blown out," he said. "Immediately I knew what had happened. I knew that they stole my stuff."
Silkwood estimates thieves stole more than $4,000 worth of stuff.
"It was a combination of like mountaineering clothing and other recreational type goods, and then I had all of my tactical rescue gear with me. It was pretty much everything i needed to do the job."
He says this will put him out of commission for at least a couple of weeks, if not longer, because he needs to replace all of his gear, and he needs to do it on his own dime.
"It's not like we get paid for the job or we get money from the state," he said.
In the meantime, Silkwood just wants the person who did this to know they did more than just steal from him.
"That gear is used to help people, and now I can't do that. So it doesn't just affect me it can affect people who are having a bad day in the mountains."
The summer is the busy season for the Alpine Rescue Team, so if you see any of Silkwoods gear, he's asking you contact police or the Alpine Rescue Team directly so he can get back to work. It should be easy to spot, it all has "Alpine Rescue Team" emblazoned all over it.
Michael Abeyta is a 4th generation Coloradan and a Multimedia Journalist for CBS4. His stories can be seen on CBS4 News at 5 & 6. He is on Twitter! Follow him @AbeytaCBS4.
