Colorado firefighter celebrates recovery of his late father's stolen truck

West Douglas County volunteer firefighter Colton Smith is celebrating the recovery of his late father's truck which was stolen in June. The theft was a massive blow to Colton, after his father Steve Smith, a former fire marshal, died in 2022.

Colton Smith

In early August, Colton received a letter from an impound recovery lot which said they recovered a black Ford F-350 listed under his family's name. Colton expected the truck to have major damages, but was pleasantly surprised to see his father's pickup mostly intact.

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Firefighter asking for help after his deceased father's truck was stolen

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“I was super, super anxious, wondering is it destroyed? Is it crunched," Colton said. "They found it. I couldn't believe it.”

Although he was surprised the truck was recovered, Colton said he was thrilled and grateful for the person who reported the abandoned pickup to the lot. He believes his father might have had something to do with the recovery.

"I know his personality," Colton said. "He probably haunted those guys until they gave it back.”

Colton started volunteering as a firefighter at just 16 years old and briefly worked alongside his father. In April of 2022, while driving home from a downed power line, Colton's father died from a heart attack in his truck. Colton was present when his father passed.

“The last thing he said to me is that he's proud of me while in the passenger seat of that truck," Colton said.

Steve Smith responded to more than 1,600 calls as a firefighter between 2010 and 2022. Colton made more than 100 calls last year. He hopes to follow in his father's footsteps.

"He was always the person that I looked up to and said, I want to be that man," Colton said.

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After Steve Smith passed, Colton cherished his father's pickup truck, which was where he first learned to drive.

The thieves cut the Ford's brake lines, removed the stereo and left behind a few scuff marks. Colton has since fixed most of the damage and replaced the stereo with an older model that belonged to his father.

"I remember the music most," Colton said. "Dad would always play his favorite — Def Leppard!"

Colton plans to add some extra security measures to the truck and plans to use it more sparingly to reduce the risk of future thefts, but said that he still hopes to keep the truck's legacy going.

"I'm going to put a million miles on it. I'm determined," Colton said.