There are car thieves, package thieves and air conditioning thieves.

But St. Louis larceny reached a new milestone Saturday when burglars drove off with a whole house — well, a tiny house, hitched to a trailer.

“It’s just so surreal because you hear about trailers and cars being stolen all the time,” said Meghan Panu, who has spent the past two years and some $20,000 crafting what she planned to make her residence in just a few months. “But this is a house, and someone drove off with it.”

The house was parked near the corner of Michigan and Gravois avenues outside Refab, a popular spot for home remodeling supplies. Panu said she believed the house was stolen early Saturday morning, and she is trying to locate any surveillance footage from nearby businesses.

She believes the house thieves went north on Grand Boulevard and is seeking footage from any businesses along the road. Reports via social media placed the house on Interstate 70 west of St. Louis. One person reported seeing it going south on U.S. 54 from the Kingdom City area.

“I’m just hoping that maybe state patrol will flag it and pull it over, but in the meantime it’s just been a waiting game,” Panu said.

Panu, a recent graduate of Webster University, had planned to move the house to a lot in the Benton Park West neighborhood and finish the interior in time to move in this spring. The dwellings are growing in popularity among those seeking a more minimalist lifestyle. Panu said her house was designed to be as efficient and sustainable as possible and built with recycled materials.

The term “tiny” is relative. The domicile is still about 12 feet tall — hard to miss when being pulled on the highway.

“I’m surprised that nothing’s turned up yet,” Panu said.

She encouraged anyone with information to contact her via her Facebook page, St. Louis Tiny Living, or through her Instagram page, stltinyliving.

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