KC-area artist loses 30K of her artwork to thieves. She’s fighting to get it back

Beth Houts has been an artist since she was a kid.

She started with photography at just 12 years old, first with personal portraits and then by developing a love for wildlife photography.

Because of the popularity of wildlife photography, Houts began to refurbish old windows and doors, among other items, to build custom frames for her pieces.

Since 2015, the Kansas City area artist has traveled the nation, making her living as a full-time artist. In fact, Houts was a featured artist at the East of Oak Art Fest on May 3rd.

But a week before the festival, Houts was contacted by a person who had seen her custom trailer, filled with her art, items for her booth setup, and personal items, in someone else’s driveway. Houts’s trailer and her utility terrain vehicle, or UTV, were allegedly taken from her property in Cleveland, Missouri, while she wasn’t there.

The artist contacted the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, where a preliminary incident report confirms an ongoing investigation for a stolen trailer and side-by-side on April 27. Her trailer was found by Grandview police two days later, but it was empty.

Kansas City police officers responded to a call for a stolen vehicle on April 30 on the 7600 block of East 75th Terrace, according to spokesperson Sgt. Phil DiMartino. Officers recovered the vehicle as part of the ongoing investigation, DiMartino said.

Houts said the recovered vehicle was her UTV.

$10,000 worth of equipment and $30,000 worth of art were allegedly taken from the trailer, according to Houts’s GoFundMe fundraiser. Authorities have told her that five to 10 men could have been involved in the alleged theft, Houts said.

“Since I haven’t been told my stuff hasn’t been dumped or destroyed, I’m still trying to locate it, because it’s my life’s work,” Houts said. She’s been working with three different law enforcement agencies to recover her items.

“It’s my heart. It’s been devastating to me.”

Negotiating with alleged thieves

While working with law enforcement, Houts has tracked down some of her items on Facebook.

Authorities told Houts a man was arrested with her trailer in Grandview, but was released, she said. The man contacted Houts and denied that he took her trailer, she said, but said he has one of her laptops and a debit card.

He has since stopped communicating with her.

Another man, who knows the alleged suspect, told Houts he has a piece of her artwork and is cooperating with law enforcement, she said.

“Both were saying, ‘Yes, I have this of yours, and I want to give it back to you,’” Houts said. “...’I want to get [the items] back to you, but I don’t want to get arrested or whatever.’ So then they said they wanted to get it back to me, but they haven’t.”

Houts said she’s also been contacting friends of the alleged suspects on social media, who told her to be careful as she attempts to track down her life’s work.

“I’ve had several say, ‘Don’t mention, don’t say my name. We’re all scared of them.’ So I’m not dealing with safe people,” Houts said. “Trying to keep myself safe and my son safe and everyone involved safe at the same time.”

One of the alleged suspects told her some of her belongings were in a storage unit in Raytown. Houts said she is working with Cass County Sheriff deputies, the lead agency on the case, to acquire a search warrant for the unit.

The entire process has been draining for Houts, she said. Pieces she’s spent years working on, all gone, without compensation or appreciation. Her work is well-regarded, displayed in businesses like the Loews Hotel and The Gatsby on Oak, so the loss has hit hard, not only financially, but also emotionally.

“So very time-consuming, very draining, on top of the fact that my life’s work was taken from me,” she said. “That’s just heartbreaking to me. Every time I think that, I get sick and I cry and I keep going because I still have hope that I can retrieve it.”

Houts still went to the East of Oak Art Fest with some printed photographs and a table. That’s where her friends and supporters began fundraising for her and helped her create a GoFundMe, which has currently raised almost $1,000 of its $10,000 goal.

As she continues working with law enforcement, Houts holds on to her community and her family, who have been encouraging her throughout her journey.

“Despite all the ugliness, there are good people who are willing to reach out and help when you’re struggling,” Houts said. “Just hearing the words of admiration of my work lifts my spirits enough to get up and keep going and keep searching.”

This story was originally published May 8, 2025 at 5:48 PM.