Vandals destroy home “beyond repair”
The three black and white surveillance photos accompanying this article were taken on Saturday, Nov. 16 around 3 a.m. at a house just outside of Akron in Union County. Anyone who recognizes the six individuals or the vehicle in the lower right corner is encouraged to contact Michelle Plueger. All photos submitted by Michelle Plueger
Family offering $5,000 reward
By Cassandra Kyser
In November, a group of individuals caused extensive damage to a house just outside of Akron in Union County, South Dakota. They destroyed not just a building, but a piece of local history.
Michelle Plueger’s great grandparents, Louis and Florence Sprenger, lived in the home after it was built in 1929. Then Plueger’s late grandparents, Embert and Helen Klemme, bought the home in 1968. It is still owned by the family today.
Plueger is sharing her family’s experience in the hopes of catching the individuals responsible for the damage. She also wants to prevent the same thing happening to another property owner. “There’s a group of people out there, that are trespassing and vandalizing and getting away with it,” she said.
No one was living in the home at the time, but Plueger said the hope was that one day the house could be moved to a new location. But between flooding and vandalism, that is no longer a possibility. She said the home is most likely beyond repair.
According to Plueger, vandalism occurred on two separate occasions: sometime between Sunday, Nov. 3 and Sunday, Nov. 10, and then again on Saturday, Nov. 16.
The photos accompanying this article were taken on Nov. 16, between 2:57 a.m. and 3:09 a.m. It’s unknown if the individuals in these photos were also the same group who vandalized the home earlier in November.
The photos show there were at least six individuals at the home the night of Nov. 16, and they were driving a Polaris Turbo Rzr side-by-side.
The individuals caused extensive damage, including breaking all the windows, ripping out door frames, throwing a toilet from the upstairs bathroom down the steps, and destroying Plueger’s grandparents’ bedroom set.
They left behind Busch Light beer cans, other beer cans, and water bottles.
Plueger’s family is offering a $5,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest and the conviction of the persons who caused damage to the house. Anyone with information is encouraged to call Plueger at 712-540-3114.
The color photos below show the extensive damage vandals caused to a home in Union County, just outside of Akron.
