NEWBERRY SPRINGS, Calif.
A Glendale man has vowed to rebuild after his newly erected cabin was stolen from the isolated location in the western Mojave Desert where he built the home by hand. Vardan Antonyan had chosen the unincorporated area of Newberry Springs as the perfect place for a weekend retreat. "The weather is nice, the air is clean," he said in an interview. "No noise. It's like you're out of civilization." About a year ago, Antonyan began building a cabin - a sanctuary where he could go and "just rest." He said he was making good progress on the cabin when items mysteriously began disappearing. "I was almost down to putting the drywall in," he said. "I dropped off the drywall, came next weekend and the drywall is gone." According to Antonyan, a thief targeted the property, stealing his generator and his tools. Then, last weekend, the entire cabin was taken. He estimated that more than $30,000 worth of property - "plywood, windows, doors, 2x4s" -- was stolen. But despite having to start over, the burglary victim said he was determined to persevere, albeit with a new strategy. "I'm going to build the whole thing at home and just bring it here and assemble it," he said, "so it will be very quick and, consequently, much harder to take apart." Anyone with information about the theft of the cabin is asked to call the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department's Barstow station at (760) 256-4838