Viewer tip helps police recover RV stolen from leukemia patient

HOUSTON – A family is celebrating after an RV trailer that was stolen from their driveway Thursday afternoon was recovered Friday morning, thanks to a viewer tip.

The RV is not just an ordinary trailer for the Perez family of the Pearland area. Their son Ethan is battling leukemia, and the family uses it to take their kids out while limiting Ethan’s exposure to other people.

According to a Facebook post, the family did not have insurance on the trailer yet. The family said the neighbor’s landscaper and another witness saw as a man and woman hook the trailer to a U-Haul truck and take off.

The witnesses said the woman was wearing hot pink shorts and had reddish hair and the man had black hair and tattoos.

KPRC 2 reported the theft Thursday night, asking anyone who has seen the RV trailer to contact authorities.

On Friday morning, a man who saw Thursday’s report was traveling around Spring Branch when he spotted the family’s RV trailer.

He called authorities and followed the trailer to a Chevron station on Long Point Road and Crestdale Drive. Authorities were able to confiscate the trailer and take four people into custody.

The Perez family got the news and are eternally grateful for that good Samaritan, and only KPRC2 was there when the owner, Ernesto Perez, got to thank good Samaritan Richard Clark.

"Thank you,” said Perez to Clark. “I appreciate everything.”

Perez is ecstatic that his family’s prayers were answered.

“We are just so happy to get our trailer back,” Perez said. “My kids, they just got informed and they are so happy … God heard our prayers.”

Although four people were taken into custody, police said there was not enough evidence to arrest them, so they questioned and released.

Perez said he is glad to have their RV trailer back, but there is a lot of work to do. 

He said the RV had a broken window, it was trashed inside and a flat-screen TV was taken. Perez said it's going to take work and money to get it all fixed and cleaned up for his son to be able to travel inside once again.


About the Authors:

Daniela Sternitzky-Di Napoli has been a digital news editor at KPRC 2 since 2018. She is a published poet and has background in creative writing and journalism. Daniela has covered events like Hurricane Harvey and the Astros World Series win. In her spare time, Daniela is an avid reader and loves to spend time with her two miniature dachshunds.