OT - Brother's trailer stolen

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2013: OT - Brother's trailer stolen
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave DeYoung on Monday, October 28, 2013 - 02:22 pm:

My brother went to his business this morning to find his 26' Wells Cargo AutoTransporter gone. The ball lock had been cut off and a jeep chassis unloaded before they left.

His business is located on the east side of Madison, WI. The police were called. They took the report, but pretty much said it is long gone and they didn't have the resources to look for it.

I know it's a long-shot, but if you hear of a really nice extra tall trailer for sale in your area, contact me.

Some of the details to look for are;

1. White in color with silver tongue and diamond plate lower front. Top is silver
2. Bubble type wind deflector on front.
3. Outside mounted spare on front with no cover.
4. Right front side loading door with broken plastic keeper to latch the door open.
5. A missing loading light above the rear loading ramp.
6. Rub damage to the lower left rear corner. Reflective marker missing and cable for loading jack pin torn loose.
7. Loading jacks at rear corners.
8. Angular back up lights mounted low on both sides near back.
9. Single handle latch for rear ramp.
10. 78" rear opening.
11. 2 rows of E-Trac in the floor and a row of E-Trac on each wall 4' up.
12. 2 roof vents.

A big thanks to any help as this is the trailer we use to haul our T in bad weather.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Cascisa - Poulsbo, Washington on Monday, October 28, 2013 - 02:48 pm:

Odds are it has been turned into a meth-lab by now. That is a common use for stolen enclosed trailers. The contents (if there are any) are dumped and the trailer hauled off to the woods and covered. :-(

Be_Zero_Be


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bill Harris, Huntington Beach California on Monday, October 28, 2013 - 02:57 pm:

Many enclosed trailers are stolen & used to transport stolen vehicles undetected. It may turn up abandoned once they're through with their current "project".


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jim on Monday, October 28, 2013 - 04:07 pm:

Dave,

I just stopped for the day in Janesville ....

I am headed down to Austin, TX

Can you post an image of it here ?



Jim


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bill dugger on Monday, October 28, 2013 - 04:54 pm:

It would be a good idea to list the State and license plate number with the above descriptions.
Good luck on finding it


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John F. Regan on Monday, October 28, 2013 - 05:04 pm:

The thief has a hard decision to make and that is to pull it without a plate and get stopped or leave the plate on and maybe get caught because of it. He may bank on the fact that the owner won't be missing the trailer right away as some of them are parked at places seldom accessed. Do post the license plate number if you know it. I am in Northern IL and it might be in my state by now even though our state is well known for its upstanding government and honest citizenry.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jack Daron - Brownsburg IN on Monday, October 28, 2013 - 05:27 pm:

Regan,there are comedians out of work....


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dick Lodge - St Louis MO on Monday, October 28, 2013 - 06:49 pm:

John, if it was an Illinois plate, it might have been made by one of those upstanding governors.... :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jack Daron - Brownsburg IN on Monday, October 28, 2013 - 07:00 pm:

On a positive note,Illinois at least knows how to get some work out of their politicians.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Harold Schwendeman - Sumner,WA on Monday, October 28, 2013 - 07:21 pm:

John Regan (the Illinois "comedian") does make a couple good points:

Ref, "places seldom accessed", those are also the kind of places that stolen trailers are "dumped off" and as for using the trailer quickly before it is missed, that happens quiet often.

The fact that the thief(s) unloaded the trailer before departing with it tells me that they obviously wanted it "empty". That could be for "meth lab" use as Bob suggested, or, it could be that the thief has only "borrowed" the trailer to quickly use for moving household or stolen goods and then dump it off at the other end of their trip, sort of justifying in their own mind (warped mind) that they really didn't steal it, but only "borrowed" it, knowing that it will eventually be recovered by police. As a retired railroad special agent, I can tell you that many such "borrowed" trailers have been found on railroad property, upon which are many of those "places seldom accessed" that John mentioned. And believe me, railroads have many such places.

The cops were "being real" when they told you that they didn't have the resources to look for it, however, it just might turn up thru' NCIC if the info was entered into NCIC. Railroad cops utilize NCIC on such cases, however, I can't speak for "ALL" public law enforcement. You might check on that with the agency that took the original theft report. FWIW,....harold


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kenneth W DeLong on Monday, October 28, 2013 - 07:41 pm:

SEE,Those who advocate building a trailer out of junk never get their's stolen!Bud.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By James A. Golden on Monday, October 28, 2013 - 09:19 pm:

A trailer stolen in Virginia a few years ago was found by the owner, rather than the police, on e-bay. The police did serve as a buyer and arrest the thief and return the trailer.

The thief did not want the Model T inside and did not know the trailer was not empty. He only wanted the trailer to transport a bunch of stolen motorcycles and parts to North Carolina for sale there. The Model T was stored in a public storage facility to empty the trailer. There were several other storage units full of those stolen motorcycles and parts.

Unfortunately the trailer was a foot taller than normal to accommodate the Model T with the top up, so it was very easy to spot in an e-bay photo. The side with a scratch in the top area was a sure thing match.

The thief was fined $1,700 and given 30 days jail time, which was served on weekends, to allow him to keep his day job as a private security police officer.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mark Strange on Monday, October 28, 2013 - 09:33 pm:

That's just not right - what was the judge thinking?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave DeYoung on Monday, October 28, 2013 - 10:12 pm:

Hey guys;

Thanks for the input and humor. It is badly needed right now. Believe it or not, we are having a hard time coming up with a complete and good pic of the trailer. It's always in the background or too dark. It's plated in Wisconsin and the plate is black letters/numbers on grey. I will get the plate number tomorrow.

It was last seen at 7:30 Sunday night and noticed missing 12 hours later. 24 hours and counting. I really hope you guys are right that it is just "borrowed" and dumped to be found later. I will inform my brother to see if it was entered into NCIC.

Thanks again.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John F. Regan on Monday, October 28, 2013 - 11:11 pm:

Go to Well cargo site and ask them for a "file photo" of the trailer you describe that they built. They might be at least able to give you a similar enough picture that you could retouch with photoshop to change any color of the hitch and point out where the various issues on it are located. Post your same info on the MTFCI forum and also the Model A (www.ahooga.com) forum and also the early V8 club. All of the hobby can be notified rather quickly through the various club forums and I for one invite any car club member to post a notice on this forum. We get enough other off topic stuff here so why not something that might help a fellow old car guy. We are all "Hershey friends" regardless of the make and model.


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