For an insurance company, the value of the goods stolen from Klint Rodgers' home earlier this month is estimated at more than $160,000.
For the Rodgers family, some of the items are too valuable for a number.
Among these is the jewelry they inherited from his wife's sister, who passed away unexpectedly last year at the young age of 39.
Years worth of family photos stashed on laptops and hard drives were also taken, not to mention his wife's custom wedding ring.
There are also intangibles, he said, like a sense of security in their home. His wife and daughter stayed with other family for the first few days after the break-in, fearing the thieves may return.
GRIEVING SISTER HURT FURTHER BY ROBBERY
"It was a good thing no one was home," he told The Tri-City News. "We had my daughter stay with her grandma. My wife also. She wasn't in any peace of mind to stay the night there for the first few nights."
It didn't take the thieves long to ransack the home. Rodgers' wife was away from the house on April 8 between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to run a few errands. By the time she returned, the place was ransacked and their most valuable possessions were taken, he said.
"I have a long, winding driveway," he said. "It looks like they have just pulled right in and kicked the door down They ripped through everything."
What makes it even more devastating for the family, Rodgers said, is the fact that some of the jewelry taken belonged to his wife's sister, Alex, who died of a heart attack last year. His wife has been having a hard time dealing with the loss and the break-in has compounded her distress.
The Rodgers received more bad news when they began sorting out their losses with their insurance company. While Rodgers has $380,000 in content insurance, he said he was unaware that he was only covered for up to $10,000 worth of jewelry. He believes the amount of jewelry taken from the house is much higher.
"Who knows?" he said when asked how much he thinks he will get back. "That's something that is going to happen over time. I am pulling together all the receipts I can find."
Coquitlam RCMP said investigators are looking in to the incident and asked anyone with any information to come forward. "It is still under investigation," said Coquitlam RCMP Const. Michelle Luca. "If anyone was in the area and saw anything suspicious, please call."
Anyone with any information is asked to phone the Coquitlam RCMP at 604-945-1550 and quote file number 14-9128. Those who wish to report information anonymously can do so by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or going online to www.solvecrime.ca.
