Dave and Barbara Bauer had just spent two weeks exploring Spain, traveling by train to a handful of cities in April while on vacation, while their house and dogs were looked after in Mission Viejo.
The couple had hired the man and woman through a company called Trusted Housesitters to housesit and take care of their beagles, Bader and Sophie, they said. It wasn’t the first time they had used the company’s website to find people to watch their home.
However, when they got back, they found their home in disarray, they said in an interview on Friday, Oct. 10. Family photos had either been moved or turned around. A portion of their garage was reorganized and china from Barbara’s great grandmother was found broken in a bin. Dirty dishes and broken glass were found in the sink. And there were signs the man and woman who watched the home had used their cars.
But it wasn’t until August, after the Bauers had returned from visiting family in Denver for two months, that they realized Dave Bauer’s autographed and authenticated Babe Ruth baseball, which he bought in 1987 and kept in a lock box, was gone. The ball and a number of baseball cards had been valued at about $100,000, Dave Bauer said.
“It (the lock box) was hidden and even if you did a cursory search, you wouldn’t have found it,” Dave Bauer said. “The key was in a different location and they really had to dig in to find that.”
The couple called the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and within an hour, four deputies were at their home. The next day, they received a call from detectives, who told them the suspects had been identified.
Months later, detectives would call back to tell the couple they had recovered the ball and the cards. The suspects had placed stickers on the ball, indicating they had asked someone how much they might be worth.
“I was ecstatic,” Dave Bauer said. “I really did not expect to get that ball back.”
In late September, detectives arrested Luis Francisco Antepara, 43, and Ashley Elizabeth Luhring, 29, both of Fullerton. They have since pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree burglary and two counts of unauthorized use of personal identifying information, according to court records.
Detectives also accused Antepara and Luhring of stealing items while housesitting for other customers in Lake Forest, Oceanside, Palos Verdes and unincorporated Orange County near Santa Ana.
The Bauers learned that the defendants used aliases, which detectives learned were actually the identities of previous homeowners that the suspects used to create profiles on the Trusted Housesitters website.
While detectives were conducting surveillance of the pair while they house sat for another customer, the duo allegedly used a credit card stolen from a previous customer’s home to order DoorDash, OCSD Sgt. Gerard McCann said.
In all, detectives believe the pair stole $200,000 in household items, jewelry and, from at least one home, comic books, including an Amazing Spiderman original edition valued at about $15,000, McCann said.
“You kind of live your life trusting people, and you wouldn’t expect someone to do something like this,” Barbara Bauer said.
Of the detectives, the couple said, “They were on top of everything” and “beyond professional.”
The Bauers remember meeting Antepara and Luhring twice before they embarked on their trip to Spain. The pair seemed friendly, with Antepara even crouching down to greet Bader and Sophie, Barbara Bauer said.
Bader and Sophie appeared to be fine when the Bauers returned home, though the neighbors told the couple it didn’t appear the housesitters ever walked the dogs.
The couple said moving forward, they plan to have someone they trust house sit the next time they leave for a trip. They do not plan to use the company again.
“Make sure the people you use for anything at your house have been vetted,” McCann said. “Try to go with friends, family or trusted neighbors, and if you don’t have that then maybe find someone who someone else has used.”
A spokesperson with Trusted Housesitters said the online platform could not comment on the ongoing legal issue, but said the platform connects pet owners with sitters, and no sitter is employed by Trusted Housesitters.
A page on the platform’s website says the sitters are vetted through background checks, identity checks, external references and email and phone verification.
Sheriff’s investigators believe others who were victims of thefts may not know they are missing items. Detectives are searching for the owners of other items, including the Amazing Spiderman comic book, McCann said.