VANCOUVER, Wash. — The "Wiener Wagon," a lunchtime fixture in downtown Vancouver, was reported stolen Monday afternoon and then recovered several hours later in Northeast Portland.
The wagon disappeared from owner Robin Provec’s Vancouver home early Monday morning. Most days, she parks the wagon on the corner of 12th and Main Street in downtown Vancouver.
"It's my life, and not just me, I take care of everybody down here," said Provec, shortly before the Wiener Wagon was found. "I'm a recovering addict, so I take care of the people who come up from drug court, if they don't have money I feed them, the homeless people … We've had people calling me, people I don't even know saying we've eaten there, we support you, we'll do what we can."
For several hours, friends and family members fanned out across Portland and Vancouver searching for the Wiener Wagon. A tip led them to a home near Northeast 22nd and Wasco Street in Portland, where the Wiener Wagon was parked in a driveway, concealed by another vehicle.
Neighbor Dominique Whittaker said she hadn't really been sure what she was seeing when she witnessed people at the home trying to haul the wagon into the driveway Monday morning.
"There were these two guys backing in a Wiener Wagon, and I thought they were the new neighbors and so I didn't think anything of it," said Whittaker. "And then this afternoon everyone showed up and realized that Wiener Wagon was not theirs!"
Portland police, including a K-9 unit, responded to the home Monday evening. They brought out a woman in handcuffs, whom neighbors told KGW had been squatting on the property. Police did not share investigative details about the case on scene, but a PPB spokesman later said that the woman was arrested on "unrelated charged."
Multnomah County jail booking records show that 40-year-old Danielle Helena Capri was arrested on charges for first-degree burglary and interfering with a peace officer, and she was placed on a county hold. Other court documents in the case are sealed. She has a pending court case from a 2020 DUII arrest, where she's accused of recklessly endangering another person.
By late evening, a tow truck arrived at the Wasco Street address, recovered the Wiener Wagon and turned it over to Provec. She said the food cart has been gutted, but at least it's out of harm's way. Friends set up a GoFundMe to help raise money to cover the damage.
Provec said she was anxious to get back to work feeding the masses.
"I just try to take care of everybody," she said, wiping away tears. "It's my life."