GRAND FORKS, N.D. - After a Grand Forks woman's belongings were taken from her Goldmark Property Management rental garage and thrown into a Dumpster, her sister turned to social media to tell the story.
In a Facebook post that has accrued hundreds of comments, Brittany Leigh Kleina alleges a Goldmark employee facilitated the incident. She posted a photo to Goldmark's Facebook page Sunday night, showing a woman pulling a rain-soaked jacket and other items out of a Dumpster.
The photo's caption says Kleina's sister, identified on Facebook as Jerrica Bridgette Thiel, came home to find someone else's car in her garage and all of her items from inside the garage gone.
The Facebook post - which had been shared on the website more than 1,260 times as of Monday evening - alleges the car belonged to the brother of the Goldmark Columbia West building's caretaker, saying the brother had authorization from a Goldmark employee to park his car there.
Thiel had two months left on her lease, according to the post, which lists snowboarding equipment, a hunting bow, a mirror and a nightstand as items thrown into the Dumpster and damaged by rain.
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When reached by phone, Kleina's co-workers said she would not comment.
Kurt Bollman, president and COO of Goldmark, said his company is investigating the incident and has offered an attorney to assist Thiel with pursuing a civil case. From what he knows, she has accepted that offer, he said.
Bollman said he believes the car parked in Thiel's garage belonged to the apartment caretaker's brother, who is a resident of that apartment building but not a Goldmark employee. He said no Goldmark employee authorized allowing someone to move Thiel's belongings or park in her garage.
Bollman said the caretaker's brother provided different stories as to why his car was parked in Thiel's garage, at first claiming he had received permission from a Goldmark employee but then saying he "took it upon himself" to park there.
It is still unclear who moved Thiel's items, Bollman said, but he does not believe a Goldmark employee authorized that, as Kleina's post alleges.
Goldmark is continuing to look into the incident, Bollman said. If it turns out a Goldmark employee was responsible for moving Thiel's items, which resulted in damage to them, that would be grounds for termination of employment, he said.
The Facebook post attracted hundreds of comments Monday from people sympathizing with Kleina and her sister and voicing discontent for Goldmark.
The post also states "The Grand Forks Police Department is involved," but police Lt. Derik Zimmel said "it doesn't appear to be under investigation."
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If a police officer was called regarding the incident, they may have referred the caller to an attorney to pursue a civil case, rather than investigating it as a criminal case, Zimmel said.
