Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a stolen semi tractor-trailer reportedly driven off from a Silver Lake farm, and a stolen flat-bed trailer from an Etna Green business, in the past week.
Kent Little, who runs Little Family Farms, 644 E. CR 1300S, Silver Lake, called the sheriff’s department Tuesday to report that his white 1999 International 9200 and blue 1996 Whitco low-boy trailer had gone missing sometime after 1 a.m. Sunday, when he’d last seen them, according to Deputy Brandon Hepler’s incident report.
Little said he had checked with all of the farm’s employees, and none had used the tractor-trailer, Hepler wrote.
The semi had been parked with its low-fuel light on, Little told investigators. An ignition key to the semi had been hidden between the driver’s seat and the cab’s fire extinguisher, Hepler wrote.
The low-boy trailer is distinguished by new deck flooring on its front left side, according to Hepler’s report.
Also Tuesday, Heath T. Roberts, the owner of Fast Times Fabrication and Metal Shop, 115 S. Walnut St., Etna Green, called the department to report a homemade 25-foot, two-axle flatbed trailer had been stolen from his business. Roberts told investigators that the trailer, which has a flat deck, no fenders and a “beaver tail” rear end, had been locked at its tongue and that bolt cutters would have had to been used to cut the lock, according to an incident report.
Roberts told investigators that the trailer had been stolen sometime before Aug. 4, because it was not there when the business’s grass was mowed, the report said.
With two high-dollar, highly conspicuous thefts reported the same day, the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department said they are taking notice.
Sgt. Chad Hill, spokesman for the sheriff’s department, said detectives are considering the incidents unrelated at this point, but are working to see if there is any correlation due to the close time proximity.
Investigators entered the information on the semi and the trailer stolen from Silver Lake, and the trailer stolen from Etna Green, into the Indiana Data and Communications System, a database used by police to store and track such information.
The sheriff’s department asks anyone with any information on either or both of these cases to call the department at 574-267-5667.
