Anonymous donor gives camper to robbed family

Lance Jeschke’s 3- and 4-year-old daughters were devastated when they found out their camper that took them to weekday adventures and nights around the campfire had been stolen in early July.

But they screamed with joy when they saw an anonymously donated one sitting in their driveway 10 days later.

Jeschke’s camper dilemma went viral in the Sioux Falls area when he posted that his 1979 Starcraft pop up camper had been stolen when he and his family were out of town. The camper had a hitch lock on it.

“I went through feeling depressed, violated, the feelings you feel when you have something stolen,” Jeschke, a Sioux Falls resident, said. “It was something we saved up to give our kids camping adventures like my wife and I had growing up.”

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Jeschke said he and his family didn’t even notice the camper was gone when they pulled in their driveway July 4. They were tired from a trip and went inside to take naps.

“But I finally looked over and yelled, ‘Someone stole our camper!’” Jeschke said.

“My daughters started crying immediately. They sat in the spot where the camper sat and they said they’ll never see the camper again. They were so sad. It broke my heart.”

He and his wife had saved up for months to purchase the used camper. It wouldn’t be until next year until they could save up enough money to buy another.

Waves of support poured in via Facebook comments, messages and an offer to start a GoFundMe page to help the family raise money for a new camper. Just as Jeschke was feeling like his summer camping adventures and summer were ruined, the family received a letter with $50 in it that said, “I see that you had bad luck with your tent trailer. Please put this money toward replacing it. Even though there are bad people, there are some good ones, too.”

Lance Jeschke - There are some wonderful folks out... | Facebook

The next day, the family was surprised with another good deed.

“Today, I was sitting at home and a camper was just dropped off here,” Jeschke said in an interview Thursday night.

The person who dropped off the camper was a messenger who informed Jeschke that the donor wished to remain anonymous.

“He said, ‘Here’s your camper, enjoy.’ He handed me the paperwork, title and a bill of sale, and parked it by my house,” he said. "Love conquers over evil."

Lance Jeschke - I am crying right now...this Camper was... | Facebook

Jeschke was ecstatic and grateful, but his daughters were even more so.

“They were so excited and screamed, ‘I’m so happy! We got a new camper!’” he said. “Their reaction was very special.”

Jeschke said when Facebook feeds are full of negative and tragic news, deeds like this should be given a spotlight.

“Things like this don’t happen to people all the time,” he said. “The perception is there is so much negative going on. You see all this stuff and all the sudden somebody pulls up with a camper and drops it in your front yard. God bless them.”

Jeschke said he and his family hope to test out the camper within the next couple weeks.