• MSN
  • Hotmail
  • More
    • Autos
    • My MSN
    • Video
    • Careers & Jobs
    • Personals
    • Weather
    • Delish
    • Quotes
    • White Pages
    • Games
    • Real Estate
    • Wonderwall
    • Horoscopes
    • Shopping
    • Yellow Pages
    • Local Edition
    • Traffic
    • Feedback
    • Maps & Directions
    • Travel
    • Full MSN Index
  • Bing
  • NBCNews.com
  • TODAY
  • Nightly News
  • Rock Center
  • Meet the Press
  • Dateline
  • msnbc
  • Breaking News
  • Newsvine
  • Home
  • US
  • World
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Travel
  • Local
  • Weather
Advertise | AdChoices
  • Recommended: Rebirth after the big storm: How one small town dug out, spruced up and lived on
  • Recommended: 'Like a Hollywood movie': Driver survives I-5 bridge collapse into Wash. river
  • Recommended: 'Winter' - maybe even snow - to return for Memorial Day weekend
  • Recommended: Cars, drivers plunge into river after Wash. I-5 bridge collapse

NBC News reporters bring you compelling stories from across the nation. For more US news, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

  • ↓ About this blog
  • ↓ Archives
    • Icons Email E-mail updates
    • Icons Twitter Follow on Twitter
    • Icons Feed Subscribe to RSS
  • 18
    Oct
    2012
    7:27am, EDT

    Snakes in an SUV: Thief steals vehicle full of reptiles

    By 9News.com

    He's known as "Wildman Phil" and makes his living traveling to schools and parties, educating kids on creepy, crawly reptiles and animals. But at a stop outside a Walmart in Englewood, Colorado, someone stole everything he had and - likely a little more than they expected.

    Phil Rakoci stopped at the store at about 5 p.m. Thursday and went inside to get some supplies. He says he had to leave his SUV running to keep the reptiles warm. When he came out 20 minutes later, his Suburban was gone.

    Read the full story at 9news.com

    Inside his vehicle was a 3-legged, 50-pound African tortoise named Stumpy; a 13-foot Burmese python, a rattlesnake, five non-poisonous snakes, three scorpions, five lizards, two turtles, one gecko, and one tarantula, along with Rakoci's personal belongings.

    "Wildman" Phil says he doesn't care about the things inside the car. What he wants back are his animals.

    "They're not just props, they're live animals. They know me. I know them," he said. "It's pretty tough. I don't care; keep the suburban, the stuff in it. I just want to get the animals back and have them live through this."

    Rakoci says the thief may not immediately be able to tell what they've gotten themselves into. Many of his animals are kept in solid, gray tubs.

    Rakoci was set to present at a local elementary school Thursday but had to cancel. He was headed to Nebraska later in the week.

    Englewood Police say they are looking for a blue 1999 GMC van with Arizona License Plate "TEDDIJO." There are several logos on the back of the van.

    More content from NBCNews.com:

    • Plot to attack Federal Reserve in NYC alleged
    • Stray anti-military vibes reverberate as thousands of vets head to college
    • Bugs invade Utah town, covering kids, dogs and food
    • Video: Family, friends remember Jessica Ridgeway at memorial
    • Five bodies found at scene of Denver bar fire

    Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook


     

    150 comments

    I knew a guy that left his car keys in his Corvette, and his 3-foot iguana on the front seat. Nobody ever stole the car.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: colorado, us-news, suv, reptiles, featured, snakes, weird-news, crime-courts

Browse

  • featured,
  • crime,
  • military,
  • weather,
  • california,
  • updated,
  • florida,
  • environment,
  • us-news,
  • shooting,
  • new-york,
  • texas,
  • education,
  • chicago,
  • police,
  • gulf-oil-spill,
  • kari-huus,
  • nbcnewyork,
  • los-angeles,
  • murder,
  • new-jersey,
  • guns,
  • afghanistan,
  • obama,
  • colorado,
  • sandy,
  • trayvon-martin,
  • nbclosangeles,
  • barack-obama,
  • crime-and-courts,
  • politics,
  • gay,
  • veterans,
  • connecticut,
  • fire,
  • arizona,
  • snow,
  • crime-courts,
  • religion
Also
Advertise | AdChoices

Archives

  • 2013
    • May (376)
    • April (608)
    • March (548)
    • February (510)
    • January (563)
  • 2012
    • December (457)
    • November (460)
    • October (477)
    • September (432)
    • August (525)
    • July (519)
    • June (508)
    • May (566)
    • April (538)
    • March (576)
    • February (471)
    • January (417)
  • 2011
    • December (455)
    • November (190)
    • October (9)
    • September (3)
    • August (51)
    • July (8)
    • June (3)
    • May (12)
    • April (5)
    • March (3)
    • February (1)
    • January (8)
  • 2010
    • December (5)
    • November (1)
    • October (2)
    • September (28)
    • August (40)
    • July (35)
    • June (177)
    • May (50)
    • April (9)
    • March (2)
    • February (2)
    • January (4)
  • 2009
    • December (5)
    • November (5)
    • October (2)
    • September (11)
    • August (4)
    • July (12)
    • June (1)
    • May (1)
    • April (1)
    • March (3)
    • February (3)
    • January (2)
  • 2008
    • December (3)
    • November (2)
    • October (6)
    • September (30)
    • August (26)
    • July (10)
    • June (4)
    • May (8)
    • April (13)
    • March (9)
    • February (7)
    • January (6)
  • 2007
    • December (10)
    • November (6)
    • October (22)
    • September (11)

Most Commented

  • Man with ties to Boston bombing suspect admits role in 2011 murders; shot during FBI questioning (2106)
  • Boy Scouts vote to lift ban on gay youth (4250)
  • US judge rules department of 'toughest sheriff' engages in racial profiling (1640)
  • At least 51 killed, including 20 children, as tornado tears through Oklahoma (1807)
  • Scouts await decision on gay membership (2226)
  • Zimmerman defense releases texts about guns, fighting from Trayvon Martin's phone (1731)
  • Jodi Arias pleads for jury to spare her life, says, 'I want everyone's pain to stop' (854)

Other blogs

  • The Body Odd
  • Cosmic Log
  • Red Tape Chronicles
  • PhotoBlog
  • Open Channel

NBCNews.com top stories

3147,10
© 2013 NBCNews.com
  • US news on NBCNews.com
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Help
  • Site map
  • Careers
  • Closed captioning
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Advertise