Reward Offered For Return of Movie
A car burglary near Park Lane and Dallas North Tollway resulted in the loss of emotional documentary footage, which the owner is pleading to get back.
Austin-based filmmaker Will Bakke was spending the night at a friend’s house in Northwest Dallas in February. Early that morning, around 4 a.m., his car was broken into, and the thief stole his laptop bag containing a computer and two hard drives.
On those hard drives contained a documentary Bakke and his company, Riot Studios, had created centered around a man named Kyle Cox who is afflicted with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The film, entitled Kyle Goes to Prom, follows Kyle and his friends on a road trip.
“It’s a really heartwarming story centered around some of Kyle’s friends who take him on a bucket list-type road trip,” Bakke said. “The coolest thing is seeing Kyle’s strength in the midst of a sad situation. And his friends don’t see Kyle as any different – they just treat him as another dude.”
Bakke is offering a $5,000 reward for the return of the hard drives, and said he has no intention of pressing charges.
“[The thief] doesn’t know what he stole,” Bakke said. “He doesn’t know the value of what he stole. You can’t sell a hard drive at a pawn shop or anything, and if you do find a way to sell it, you’re only going to get around $50. It’s way more valuable to us and to Kyle, and telling his story, which is priceless.”
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, also referred to as Duchenne’s disease, is an inherited disorder of progressive muscle weakness and degeneration. It almost always results in the need of a wheelchair, which Kyle uses.
His limitations did not stop his friends from taking him on a surprise trip, which Bakke filmed for his company.
Bakke submitted video surveillance to local police authorities from a neighbor’s security camera, which shows a man in a red beanie and bright red shoes going from car to car in the neighborhood.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the bag or hard drives should contact Bakke at will@riotstudios.com or notify the Dallas Police Department. See more at kylegoestoprom.com.
“In the end, it’s still most important that awareness is raised for Kyle and Duchenne’s,” Bakke said.
