A U.S. National Ski Team member and Olympic hopeful is pleading for her sports equipment to be returned after her bags and skis were stolen from a vehicle in Atlanta less than a month before the qualifier.
Dani Loeb said she hopes the people who stole her skis will return them so she can have the best chance possible while participating in an Olympic qualifier in Quebec, Canada, on Jan. 7.
“I just want to do my best,” she said, “and in order to do that, I need my skis.”
Loeb said she was miles away when someone broke into her mother’s vehicle Wednesday and stole her skis. The 20-year-old native of Pintlala, Alabama, was on a flight back from Finland after having competed in a World Cup event.
When she landed, a family friend picked her up at the airport.
“They asked if I had heard the news and at first I was worried that someone was hurt,” she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Then they told me that my skis had gotten stolen.”
According to an incident report obtained by the AJC, the skis were among several items taken from the vehicle while it was parked in a deck on Peachtree Street.
Loeb said her mother had arrived back in the U.S. two hours ahead of her and had taken her luggage for her. About 8 p.m. Wednesday, her mother went to visit a family friend at their condo. She parked the 2008 Chevrolet 3500 pickup truck in a parking deck along Peachtree Road, according to the police report.
When they returned about an hour and a half later, they saw several items were missing, including the skis, three bags, two iPads, an Apple watch and several pieces of jewelry, the police report said.
Officers found damage to the handle of the driver’s-side door, but no other damage was detected on the truck.
Police said two suspects were caught on surveillance footage pulling into a parking space next to the vacant truck, taking items from it and driving off. They have not been located.
Loeb, who has been on the U.S. National Team for two years competing in aerials freestyle, said a pair of skis like the ones stolen from her mother’s truck cost about $1,600. Two pairs of those skis were in her bag when it was stolen, she said.
However, the cost of the skis goes far beyond the price point, she said. Each pair is made in Switzerland, making them hard to come by.
“They are not regular skis. They are specifically made for my sport,” she said.
Loeb said her teammates have offered to let her borrow their skis while she awaits a replacement pair. She said she has managed to order a helmet, uniform and goggles to replace the other equipment that was stolen, and the maker of the skis has agreed to bring her a new pair while she is in Canada.
“But I just really need my skis back before the Olympic qualifier,” she said.
Anyone with information on the theft is asked to contact Atlanta police. Those who wish to support Loeb or other U.S. Ski Team members can visit the team’s website.
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