Even the cops couldn't believe this one.

A stolen house? Someone actually jacked up a log cabin off its foundation and made off with the entire structure?

Yes and yes.

That's what the agitated caller told deputies when he phoned the Klamath County Sheriff's Office Tuesday to report the theft.

This was no mobile home or house trailer, the caller said. It was a nearly new 1,500-square-foot log cabin with a deck and it was gone. Someone, somehow, moved it from a rural home site in the unincorporated Sprague River area, about 45 miles northeast of Klamath Falls, and the caller was not happy.

Call it the case of the missing log cabin.

During nearly 40 years in law enforcement, including 25 years with the Los Angeles Police Department, Klamath County Sheriff Frank Skrah had never heard of anything like it.

Nor had any of the other three members of his command staff, who together had 80 years of police experience.

"You can imagine the weight of that thing," Skrah said Thursday. "You don't just put that in your back pocket."

**

Early Wednesday, Skrah assigned two deputies to follow up.

Other than the caller's statements and a photograph of the cabin, they had little to go on.

But by knocking on doors, making a few phone calls and working their sources - both ordinary residents and criminal informants - the two investigators got information that led them to the structure Thursday morning.

The sheriff credited Detective Eric Shepherd and Cpl. Brian Bryson, head of the sheriff's forest unit, for cracking the case.

"It's was damn good detective work," Skrah said.

By 10 a.m. Thursday, less than 48 hours after the reported theft, the two investigators had located and photographed the missing structure. They documented tire tracks and other physical evidence and contacted the homeowner.

Turns out the house hadn't moved very far. Not even a mile.

"As the crow flies, it was 3,750 feet," Shepherd said. Whoever moved it from its remote location on a county road had placed it on the other side of a meadow.

So it was in plain view?

"On a clear day and with good eyesight, yes," said Shepherd. "You've got to understand, this in the middle of nowhere. The closest town is Chiloquin."

**

Locating the missing structure may turn out to be the easiest part of this case, authorities said. Unraveling the back story of the cabin's ownership is proving to be one challenge. Figuring out if criminal charges apply is another.

As of Thursday evening, here is what investigators have been able to piece together:

The property in question is originally purchased by Ronald Niederbrach.

He and a girlfriend, Paulette Kallo, live together for a time in a conventional house on the property. At some point, Miklos Kallo, Paulette's ex-husband, also moves onto the property and she provides care for him as he has health issues.

Miklos Kallo buys a log cabin kit, has it built and stays in the cabin.

Things don't work out between Niederbrach and Paulette, and Niederbrach moves to Sisters.

The Kallos reconcile and live in the house until a fire severely damages it, leaving it uninhabitable. At some point, the property is titled in the names of all three persons.

On July 8, 2014, Miklos Kallo sells the cabin to a fourth party. In September, the buyer moves it to where it was found this week.

At some point, Niederbrach learns the cabin is missing, but doesn't report it right away. He calls Paulette Kallo, who tells him she knows nothing about it.

Finally, on Tuesday, Niederbrach reports the cabin stolen.

**

So, what was reported as a theft apparently is a case of one party selling the cabin without the knowledge of the other two - and of the new buyer purchasing it with no idea of the circumstances, authorities say.

"It's a mess," Shepherd conceded. The first issue is determining which of the three previous residents on the Sprague River property had an ownership interest.

More work lies ahead in determining if criminal charges are warranted or if the whole knotty affair boils down to a civil dispute.

Skrah, the 72-year-old sheriff, said aggravated theft might be one charge. Moving a house without a permit might be another, he joked.

Investigators at least have determined that last year's buyer of the cabin "is on the up and up," Shepherd said. "This guy thinks he has a house. He goes over, jacks the place up, hires a logging company with a lowboy and a skidder, and drags it over to the new place he's got."

But, like many other property owners in the area, he doesn't live in the house year-around. Skrah declined to identify the man, pending further investigation of the case.

Summing up where things stand, Shepherd tried to find some humor in the situation.

"We have an open investigation. We know where the cabin is. We know it's not going anywhere - well, hopefully, not again."

-- George Rede

grede@oregonian.com

503-294-4004

@georgerede