A quick response from the Katikati community saw a stolen tiny home found three hours after an appeal was posted to Facebook.

On Saturday, March 29, at 4am, a Tiny House Builders Ltd show home was stolen from the property on Rea Rd.

Tiny House Builders Ltd owner Rebecca McLean said it took the offender 20 minutes after they had made their way onto the property to smash the trailer lock, remove the security gates, take off the jacks and hook up the five-tonne show home onto the tow bar of their ute.

This wasn’t McLean’s first rodeo. A Tiny House “pod” was stolen from the property last year, which encouraged her to upgrade her security system. She was quick to take the matter to the police and social media.

“Police received a report of a tiny home on a trailer being taken from a Rea Rd address on March 29,” said a police spokesperson.

McLean’s social media post received a prompt response by the community and with the combined efforts of the community and police, her property was found within just three hours.

“It’s pretty impressive,” she said.

The response from the community blew McLean away.

“That’s the only way it was found.”

People reported their sightings to McLean and sent in bits from security cameras that had been facing the street, which gave McLean and the police a timeline and a direction.

The Tiny House Builders Ltd show home was taken from the Katikati property by a person in a white ute who drove it in the direction of Rotorua before being found by police in Ohauiti.

A member of the public who had seen the post on social media saw the tiny home parked up and immediately contacted her.

McLean does not know why the people stole the tiny home, which had already been sold and was awaiting collection in two weeks by its new owners.

She contacted the soon-to-be owners of the tiny home as soon as possible and said they were shocked and surprised.

“It’s a big piece. It’s really noticeable. It’s not supposed to be towed on the road. We’re supposed to put them on a truck and transport them.

“This one was a full house, so it had a kitchen, bathroom, the works. It would have been a nightmare to drive it.”

The Tiny Home was fully furnished with a full kitchen

McLean was blown away when the Tiny Home was found in three hours

On the Tiny House Builders Ltd website, McLean provided her phone number for people to contact her directly with any information.

She received around 10 phone calls from people who had seen the ute towing her show home from her property in Katikati towards Rotorua.

“We’re really grateful to everyone who had taken the time to reach out and be like, ‘Oh, hey, if anyone’s seen anything, go help these guys out’.”

“It wouldn’t have been found without them [the community].”

The police spokesperson said: “The trailer and structure were located at an Upper Ohauiti Rd location.

“A forensic examination has been conducted, and inquiries into the circumstances of the incident are ongoing.”