LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A Las Vegas bride-to-be is asking for help from police and the community after her family heirloom wedding dress was stolen from her apartment complex’s mailroom.
Crista Dettelis said the dress, which her mother wore 40 years ago, and a headpiece her grandmother wore 75 years ago, were taken from the Elysian Tivoli apartment complex last Saturday by someone with key fob access to the building.
“I wish that my wedding dress for the ceremony had been the one that got stolen, because I can replace that,” Dettelis said. “But this dress that I was going to wear for my legal ceremony, it’s irreplaceable. I cannot replace this. I can’t get it back. It’s a piece of my family’s history.”
Package theft investigation
Dettelis had the dress shortened in preparation for her legal ceremony in Las Vegas in April. The dress and headpiece were shipped to her apartment complex, but disappeared from the mailroom.
“I immediately went to the front when I recognized the package wasn’t there. I told them the package was missing,” Dettelis said. “I had to kind of prompt them to look through the cameras. They usually don’t do that, but because it was a wedding dress, they agreed.”
Apartment staff told Dettelis the man who took the package used a key fob to access the mailroom and was a resident of the building. They showed her a picture of the vehicle he drove.
“It’s a very specific car. Very specific. And I found the car matched the picture they showed me,” Dettelis said.
Confrontation and ongoing issues
Dettelis confronted the man, who denied taking her package. She said she has spoken to several other residents with missing packages after they were left on the mailroom counter instead of being secured in a locker.
“We deserve to have some action and some accountability for this. So this doesn’t continue happening,” Dettelis said.
FOX5 called and emailed the Elysian Tivoli apartment complex for a response to Crista’s allegations, but did not receive a response.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police confirmed to FOX5 that the case is under investigation.
“This Grand Larceny is currently being investigated by Summerlin Area Command. This is an open and active case,” the Office of Public Information for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shared.
Community search effort
Dettelis is asking everyone to watch for the dress at thrift stores and on resale pages. Her plea has been widely shared on social media and has received millions of views.
“I’m trying to stay positive and hope that somehow by a miracle, the dress comes back to me,” Dettelis said.
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