Aussie tourists' van stolen in Seattle, 3-month trek on hold

That was April 29. He got the tattoo last Saturday.

That's the kind of thing you do when you're 22 and on a world-exploring trek some 8,000 miles from home.

Home, in this case, is Adelaide in South Australia.

That minivan was going to take them all the way from Vancouver, B.C., to Costa Rica on a three-month trip.

"We loved that Toyota," says Bowler. "It was our symbol of our big overseas trip."

Says his girlfriend, Lauren George, 21: "It was the symbol of our freedom."

The couple had traveled to Vancouver and bought the van with money they had saved working for half a year at the Australian surf shop where they met.

Sunday, they drove south to Seattle. And on Monday, their minivan was stolen from its parking space on Belmont Avenue on Capitol Hill.

It's one of the rituals of being young and traveling: At some point, you're going to get ripped off. Stuff happens, whether at a hostel, or on what you thought was a safe, well-lit street.

But Bowler doesn't plan to look at his tattoo with bad memories.

"It made this trip a lot richer. It's a life experience," he says, even when he adds up that the couple lost around $3,500 worth of items, and their insurance carrier is saying it might cover $500 of the loss.

There was the laptop that Bowler's sister had loaned him. There was the surfboard and brand-new wetsuit. The tent, sleeping bags, clothing, medical kit, iPod, a credit card.

At least they have their passports, camera and wallets — they carried those with them after parking the minivan and heading to a Mariners game.

Later that night, George cried herself to sleep.

She cried because now gone is the diary she kept. She'd written four or so pages a day so she could share with friends and family all the details, such as her first encounter with a local outside the Los Angeles International Airport.

"This preacher was asking for donations," she remembers. Only having Australian dollars, the young woman begged off.

"Liar! Liar! Liar!" the preacher yelled at her.

The couple spent two nights in Las Vegas, and remember walking on the sidewalk and being handed the business cards of prostitutes. All the other tourists seemed to carry tall drinks.

Last week, the couple flew to Vancouver, B.C., where Bowler had some Australian buddies.

That is when they went on Craigslist, looking for a minivan to drive down the West Coast.

They bought the first one they looked at. Then it was off to Seattle to visit other friends, including Leandra Flores, 20, who lives on Capitol Hill and is the girlfriend of one of Bowler's buddies in Vancouver.

A mattress was found, and now the young couple are staying with Flores.

"As long as they need," says Flores.

The police took down the report of the stolen minivan — a 1985 maroon Toyota with British Columbia license plate 684LHC — but so far, there has been no news.

Bowler's mom, Michele Bowler, sprang into action from seven time zones away, dealing with the Australian insurance company, the stolen credit card and, after another sleepless night fretting about her son — because that is what moms do — calling The Seattle Times.

"It's typical of her, it doesn't surprise me," says her son.

The young couple feel better now.

They'll be looking on Craigslist for another vehicle. They're continuing their adventure. They have no hard feelings toward Seattle.

Lauren George is going to start another diary.

"There's a lot more memories, absolutely," she says.

Erik Lacitis: 206-464-2237 or elacitis@seattletimes.com