‘It kind of wiped me off my feet’: U of M student reeling after trailer full of business supplies stolen

Minneapolis police say the number auto thefts in Minneapolis is up this year. The number now includes one trailer owned by a University of Minnesota student that was taken in the past few days.

“Initially I thought, I’ve got to be hallucinating. This has got to be fake,” said Jake Schroeder. “I was totally off guard when I came back and the trailer was gone. And initially, I just called 911, got them on the phone, and then talked to the university police department and Minneapolis Police Department about getting the camera footage the next day.”

But the trailer was also carrying precious cargo.

To pay for tuition, Schroeder runs his own parking lot paint-striping business. Those supplies were stored inside.

“This was a little smaller trailer, very expensive in my mind. But whoever stole it didn’t know what was inside the trailer, which was loaded with striping equipment and paint and tools, everything to run the business,” Schroeder said. “It’s always been on my radar whether or not someone was going to take the trailer. Minneapolis can be a rough area sometimes, so I’m always aware of some things getting stolen.”

Minneapolis police records show there have been at least 2,584 instances of auto thefts this year. That number means about 10 cars are stolen on average each day in Minneapolis. This time last year, the average was eight.

“I am a small business owner. I don’t have a lot of money, a lot of capital to buy new equipment, so it kind of wiped me off my feet,” Schroeder said.

Minneapolis police confirm they are still investigating this case. The trailer was taken sometime before early Thursday morning, near East River Parkway in Minneapolis.