Stubblefield said the tiny house, dubbed the Tiny Fashion House Boutique and nicknamed "Esther," had been parked in a roped-off section of the Battlefield Mall parking lot in Springfield, Mo., Friday night in preparation for Saturday's Food Truck Showdown event.
Stubblefield discovered the tiny house missing Saturday morning and alerted police and her store's Facebook followers.
She said tips started coming in from witnesses who had seen the house being towed on Missouri Highway 96, toward Carthage. A gas station's security camera recorded the tiny house leaving a parking lot.
A Pittsburg, Kan., woman who saw the post on Facebook contacted Stubblefield to report an unfamiliar tiny home was parked in front of a house in her neighborhood, about 100 miles from where the structure was stolen.
Stubblefield contacted police, who recovered the tiny home. Pittsburg Police Detective Adam Harrison said no arrests have yet been made, but the thief is likely to face theft charges in Springfield and possession of stolen property charges in Pittsburg.
The Front Porch Boutique posted a video to Facebook of Esther's triumphant return.
"She feels slightly violated and has some minor issues (signs were torn off, jacks are broke, etc. etc.) but we couldn't be happier to have the ONE & ONLY Esther home!!!" Stubblefield wrote.
Stubblefield said she does not know why anyone would steal the miniature house, which does not have a kitchen or a bathroom.
"I have a feeling it was on a whim, but I don't know, though," Stubblefield told the Joplin Globe.
