The homeless gnomes will no longer be available for purchase at this evening’s City of Gillette Surplus Auction.

After the story of the homeless gnomes hit news wires, the story caught the attention of Colorado law enforcement.  As it turns out, there have been reports of stolen gnomes in parts of Colorado as well.

Before these gnomes can be sold, Colorado law enforcement must search them to determine whether any of them were taken from their state.

“Officers in Arvada, Colorado got information that we recovered gnomes matching the description of some they had missing at the same timeframe” explained City of Gillette Police Detective, Becky Elger.  “They also had information that the suspects had been down in that area during that timeframe.  So until we determine whether or not these belong in Colorado, they are again evidence of a possible crime in Colorado.”

Over 100 gnomes remain unclaimed and were scheduled to be sold this afternoon.

Some questions from the media focused on whether or not the suspects could face additional charges if they did, in fact, cross state lines with stolen property.  When prompted for an answer Elger jokingly replied, “There won’t be any gnome trafficking charges.”

Currently, a total of three juveniles are facing misdemeanor charges in Campbell County and Crook County.  Based on these new developments, these charges are not expected to change.

If you were excited about the possibility of welcoming into your home a new family member, there will likely still be a chance to purchase one of these homeless gnomes in the future.  “Whatever’s not claimed by Colorado will then be auctioned off at the next auction” said Elger.

Last May, police recovered 143 garden gnomes from a car occupied by two teenage girls.  The girls then confessed to stealing the gnomes from various locations throughout Gillette and Campbell County.

If you were planning on attending the tonight’s auction, plenty of other items remain including bikes, stereos, computers, and vehicles.  The auction begins at 5:30 p.m. tonight at the old city warehouse on the north side of Warlow Drive between the Animal Shelter and Bicentennial Park.