The Bakersfield Califronian
SHAFTER, Calif. — A small, red wooden cabinet containing a free “take a book, leave a book” neighborhood library, stolen from a Bakersfield family’s front lawn Tuesday, was recovered in Shafter Saturday morning, the Shafter Police Department reported.
A Kern County Fire Department crew, dispatched to a medical emergency at a Shafter home Friday night, came upon the red cabinet in the house’s living room, and Fire Captain Tyler Townshend recognized it as identical to the one that had been stolen. He called the Shafter Police Department, which served a search warrant and seized the library the following morning.
Grant Fieldgrove went to Shafter and retrieved it Saturday.
About a year ago, Fieldgrove, his wife, and their 7-year-old autistic son, McClane, created the library, registering it through Little Free Library, a free book exchange designed to promote reading and community connectedness.
On Tuesday, the little library, all of the books, and a small white chair were taken.
The Fieldgrove family had already started gathering new books for another library, thanks in part to donations, when the stolen library was discovered.
Grant Fieldgrove announced the news through his Facebook account.
“You guys!!! With a combined effort from the ... (Kern County) Fire Department and the Shafter Police along with the media and all you lovely people, we got our library back,” he wrote. “While responding to a call, the library was seen in some dude’s house! It’s in our possession right now! We are going to clean it up and it will be back and better than ever!!! If you donated and would like your money back, that is totally fine! If not, we will be starting a second library and all the money will go directly to that! Thank you all so, so much!!!”
The case is still under investigation and will be submitted to the District Attorney’s office for review, Shafter Police said.
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