Couple says $5,000 worth of items stolen from their unit at local storage facility

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Tyler Rambis and his wife Jenelle say their personal items amounting to roughly $5,000 were stolen from the Storage Masters storage facility on Monday.

Rambis said he was driving home from the gym on Monday when he noticed a string of unit doors were left open at the facility. Rambis said he arrived, to find his unit was one of the many that had been broken into.

According to Rambis, after alerting the facility of the break-in, he was notified that the business had been aware of an increase in burglaries over the past month and a half. Rambis described this as being the most frustrating part of the incident, adding that he feels it shows negligence on the facility's part.

"I think initially you just feel a little violated," Rambis said. "I think the frustration grew when I found out that the employees were aware of the increase in crime and yet didn't notify me as a tenant."

Rambis said he and his wife had been renting the unit for more than a year and a half for his business. Knowing that there is a possibility for theft, Rambis said he took every precaution he found necessary to ensure his belongings were secure.

Rambis said he added an additional lock to the unit, rather than solely using the lock provided to them by the facility. He thought this would deter anyone from breaking in, only to find not even that was enough.

"So I thought maybe the person would move on to you know, somebody else's unit," Rambis said. "But they didn't even worry about my locks, they just busted the door down."

Rambis also claims the facility told him they are no longer renting out units to new customers, due to the increase in burglaries.

ABC 17 News reached out to the facility for comment.

A Columbia Police Department spokesperson told ABC 17 News in an email that it had burglary reports at the location on Dec. 26 and Jan. 17. According to the Columbia Police Dispatch Log, from June 1, 2023, to Jan. 25 of this year, there have been eight reported burglaries in the 4100 block of Range Line.

Rambis said he contacted police who filed a report, but never heard anything more.

Rambis also noted that he notified the facility of the burglary and asked them to review surveillance footage of the timeframe he believes the theft occurred. However, Rambis said the surveillance camera only shows the entrance of the facility, rather than individual units and that he has not heard back from the business.

Due to an agreement signed with the business, Rambis said they are not responsible for covering monetary losses or the items lost. Items stolen from their unit include construction tools and golf clubs.

However, it's the antique rocking horse Tyler Rambis bought for his first-born years ago after Hurricane Irma that would be the biggest loss for the couple.

"We were just ready to get it out for our third child," Jenelle Rambis said. "So, we're pretty disappointed that our youngest couldn't ride on the rocking horse."

The Rambis' say since the incident, they've moved what remained in their unit to another facility in town. They urge anyone looking to leave their belongings in a facility to take that into account, and hope other facilities experiencing thefts will be more transparent with their tenants.