'They're irreplaceable': Models stolen from Metro Vancouver Lego artist on road trip

A Metro Vancouver artist is hoping his award-winning Lego models will be recovered in one piece after they were stolen – along with his car – in the U.S. late last month.

Paul Hetherington and his girlfriend were on the last leg of a month-long road trip visiting Lego conventions in the states when the theft occurred.

"Our car was loaded with our stuff and all these custom Lego creations that we've created over the last few years," he told CTV News on Sunday.

"On Friday, June 30, our car was stolen on the very last day of the trip at the Ramada Inn in Spokane, Wash."

Hetherington said he parked within 100 metres of the hotel's front door, and the thieves were caught on surveillance video around 6 a.m.

"A car drove up and a guy got out of the car, a passenger, and looked at several cars and then chose ours and broke in," he said.

On Sunday morning, Hetherington got word that the stolen vehicle had been recovered, but the Lego models he spent months creating were not inside.

"Losing those is really the most heart-breaking part of the story, for us," he said. "They're irreplaceable. It's just so sad that somebody would take them."

Hetherington has shared photos of the missing models on social media and said friends in the Lego community have spread the word.

He said he doesn't think thieves would be able to get much money for the models, and he's still hopeful they'll turn up undamaged.

In the meantime, Hetherington is undeterred in his hobby. Fourteen of his models are on display at West Vancouver Memorial Library through the end of the month, and he plans to continue building new models for years to come.

"I'm in this for life," he said. "I've been doing it for 30 years. I have no plans to stop. It's a little blip on the radar of the Lego life."