Fire-damaged home looted in Indio
On Feb. 27, Victoria Ivy and her mother, Rosemary Salter, watched as a fire ripped through their Indio apartment, killing the family dog and causing nearly $60,000 in damage.
But the tragedy didn’t stop there for the family; shortly after the fire, looters took aim at their home on Shadow Palms Avenue.
Looters that could be identified because they were wearing the very clothes they took.
“To have her go back there and see someone else wearing her clothes and see her cry like that,” says Ivy. “I don’t know, I just feel like I’m going to pass out or something.”
Ivy says someone told her the man had kicked in and then crawled through the air conditioning vent which our cameras found was a direct tunnel inside the unit
Neighbors reported seeing a suspicious man hanging around the burned unit after the fire. They also reported other suspicious behavior as well, including another fire this past Saturday at the unit next door.
“They said they’re securing our house and there will be no problems. ‘It’s okay, It’ll be okay. We have security and will have all of your property would be protected,” Ivy said.
Property management at the Christiansen Apartments was out of the office when we stopped by, and has not returned multiple calls.
The Indio Police Department can seemingly corroborate this claim; they were made aware of a suspicious person near the condemned residence the day after the fire.
“So no telling what’s out there and I will never get back. I’m hoping it’s nothing my grandmother gave me,” Ivy said.
KESQ / CBS Local 2’s Katie Widner reached out to Cal Fire to see what people can do if they end up in a similar situation. Unfortunately, with the structure being condemned, there’s not much that can be done. They advise that you can ask neighbors to be aware and keep an eye on things.
The biggest lesson in this is to have renters insurance which the family does not.
The family is seeking for donations of clothing if you would like to help contact Ivy at (760)600-3514.
Download the KESQ / CBS Local 2 app on iTunes or Google Play for up-to-the-minute breaking news alerts & more
More: I-Team and Stands for You investigations
Find us on Facebook: KESQ News Channel 3 & CBS Local 2
Follow us on Twitter for breaking news updates: @KESQ & @Local2
We’re on Instagram! @KESQ_News_Channel_3 & @CBSLocal2
Noticias en español: Telemundo 15
