ONLY ON 13: Business owner uses sleuthing skills to track stolen trailer

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A special trailer owned by the proprietors of a Houston clothing company was stolen recently, and the owners did what they could to track it down.

The owners of Paris Texas Apparel Co. sell t-shirts, polos and prints. People always say "Don't mess with Texas," but in this case don't mess with the Hotze's.

On Tuesday, Paul Hotze and his wife Chloe played detectives.

"I was on the computer, he was on the ground. We were a good team," said Chloe.

Their priceless vintage Airstream disappeared. "I just thought it was a joke," she said.

"My heart sunk --- it's gone," said Paul about what had happened.

Chloe went to work and began posting the incident on a social media group, and calling H.P.D. to file a report.

"I ran down and got security footage from our neighbors," said Paul.

There it was on surveillance video rolling away, but soon things took a big turn.

"I said to my wife, 'Come look at this picture, I think it might be the same trailer,' " said Ryan Hunzeker who saw the posting on social media.

Hunzeker got in touch with the Hotze's and gave them a tip. He said he saw the vintage trailer in one neighborhood.

"I went over there to investigate," said Paul.

Paul then spoke to a man in that neighborhood who eventually told him he could find it at the Walmart on Yale and I-10.

"I peeked inside, saw it and said it's our Airstream," said Chloe.

"So I unhooked it, brought it back to our house," said Paul.

They called HPD and even they couldn't believe what happened.

"All he needed was one clue and he got his Nancy Drew shoes on and he made it happen and got it back," said Hunzeker.

All in a day's work. Now the Hotzes say in spite of what happened to them, they believe that deep in the heart of Texas "the good in the world outweighs the bad".