Tiny houses can be more mobile than a larger single-family, creating opportunities for homeowners and potentially thieves:

For two years, the recent Webster University graduate had been working on the minimalist accommodation. She had drawn a floor plan, laid sheep’s wool insulation and found electric and water sources. The home rose 12 feet high, with green windows, a tin roof and stained cedar siding. Construction had cost her about $20,000…

As it took shape, the home had traveled back and forth between St. Louis and Webster Groves, where Panu’s university is located. But on Saturday morning, she received a call from the supply warehouse’s owner, who had recently invited her to park near his business, Refab.

“He asked if I had moved the tiny house overnight and when I said no, he had the unfortunate news that they hadn’t, and it was likely taken,” Panu told WTHR, an NBC affiliate…

On Wednesday, detectives found the house 30 miles down the Mississippi River in House Springs, Missouri, Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak announced on Twitter. The Associated Press reported that an anonymous tip had led them to the purloined residence. According to the Post-Dispatch, there was no word on suspects.

There has to be a way to immobilize the wheels when the tiny home is parked. Is it worth putting a boot on your own home? For those interested in putting together small communities of tiny homes, providing additional security (for a fee, of course) could be worthwhile.

It sounds like the house was discovered in one piece. Could future tiny house thieves become more crafty and either alter the exterior to hide key details or chop up the house for parts and easier movement? The article described a social media push to find the way with people reporting seeing it moving down the highway. It is hard to miss the movement of a tiny house (perhaps until they become so popular that they are being moved all the time).