September 8, 2012
TWENTYNINE PALMS (CBSLA.com) — The owners of a modest home near Twentynine Palms lost their cherished possessions after a bank mistakenly foreclosed their residence.
A crew broke into Alvin and Pat Tjosaas’ desert home and took everything after being directed by Wells Fargo to secure the structure.
The couple, however, didn’t have a mortgage on the home.
Alvin said the deputy sheriff said, “Good news, we know who took (your possessions)…Wells Fargo. Bad news, your stuff is all gone.”
All the married couple has now are three generations of memories.
Alvin, a retired mason, built the home with his father when he was a teenager.
“I know every inch, every rock…my mom mixed all the cement by hand,” he said.
Alvin and his wife would later bring their six children to their desert oasis.
“My little kids (would) come out here and their dresses were the same color as the wildflowers,” said Alvin.
A spokesman for Wells Fargo released a statement apologizing to the couple.
“We are deeply sorry for the very personal losses the Tjosaas family suffered as a result of their home being mistakenly secured,” said Alfredo Padilla. “We are moving quickly to reach out to the family to resolve this unfortunate situation in an attempt to right this wrong.”
Alvin and Pat remain distraught.
“When you put your heart into something…it makes me real sad. I’m just glad I have my sweetheart. We’ve been together a long time,” said Alvin.
