CALDWELL, Idaho — A Caldwell restaurant is mourning the loss of a cherished display item stolen on Saturday, April 13.
Indian Creek Steakhouse, located on Main Street in Caldwell, had two College of Idaho football helmets displayed up front behind its hostess counter.
One of the helmets was purple, sitting further back on the shelf. The other one was gold, and it was displayed more towards the front of the shelf.
The gold one had been on display for 10 years after it was presented to the owner of the steakhouse, Dillon Wickel.
"Two individuals that had been dining in the restaurant decided to scope out the situation at the hostess stand," General Manager Emily Williams told KTVB.
At that time there was no one at the hostess stand, as the restaurant side of the building was about to close, Williams said.
"After watching, looking for cameras for a solid 20 minutes, (he) decided to have his female companion start the car in the front of the restaurant, while he ran up and stole the helmet and ran out the front door and got in his pickup," Williams said.
The man took the gold helmet and left the purple one. Williams said she believes that was because the gold was easier to grab.
The restaurant surveillance video caught the man in action. Indian Creek Steakhouse shared screenshots from the video with KTVB.
Indian Creek Steakhouse also shared the photos on Facebook, in hopes someone in the community recognized the man.
The College of Idaho and Indian Creek Steakhouse have a close relationship. The steakhouse often hosts team dinners for the football team.
There's also a handful of employees at the steakhouse who attend the college.
When the College of Idaho heard what happened, the athletics department worked quickly to gift the steakhouse a new helmet.
The new helmet is white and signed by the current football team, Associate Athletic Director Austin Basterrechea told KTVB.
It was delivered to the steakhouse Monday evening.
Basterrechea said Indian Creek Steakhouse is "big on community" and a "staple in the community."
He said C of I wanted to do what they could to support the steakhouse.
Williams said a community member shared possible information about the suspect with them, that Indian Creek Steakhouse gave to the Caldwell Police Department.
Caldwell Police told KTVB they took an official police report the evening of April 16. Officers went to look for the suspect the same evening and was unsuccessful in locating him.
"We will continue to search and hopefully have a resolution to the case soon," Char Jackson, a spokesperson for Caldwell Police told KTVB.
Williams and the rest of the staff at Indian Creek Steakhouse hope the gold helmet will return, and then they would have three helmets displayed, each one of the College of Idaho school colors.
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