Greensboro, NC -- Greensboro Police are looking for a trailer stolen from the Red Cross.
Melanie McDonough with the Red Cross said someone stole one of their emergency trailers parked outside their building on Yanceyville Street. It was noticed missing Tuesday morning.
She said the trailer contained blankets, cots and a generator used for emergency shelters.
The trailer said "American Red Cross Randolph County" on the side. McDonough said the trailer is stationed in Randolph County during the summer, but was moved to Greensboro to hold supplies for the winter.
McDonough said they are working with Greensboro Police to find the trailer.
Officials at the Red Cross in Greensboro are asking for help after thieves stole a trailer full of equipment from the parking lot of their Yanceyville Street office overnight Monday.
A half-trailer with an estimated $10,000 worth of materials was parked outside the office overnight for churches who were borrowing the blankets and cots to run emergency shelters.
"It shocked us all. We were joking that somebody had moved it, but then we called their volunteers and we didn't move it. These are the times we'd open a shelter, and that's why we need it," Susan Smith, Red Cross official, said.
Melanie McDonough, a spokesperson for the Red Cross, said a bolt cutter was used to pop the lock on the trailer hitch, which allowed the trailer to be towed away. The trailer has a Red Cross logo on the side, McDonough said.
Even if someone had seen the burglary in progress, they likely would not have looked twice, Smith said.
"If somebody came by in the middle of the night and saw it being moved, they would think were just responding to a disaster," Smith said.
This is the first time in Smith's 35 years of Red Cross service that she can remember anything of significant value being stolen.
The Greensboro Police Dept. is investigating. Anyone with information is asked to call Greensboro Crimestoppers at 373-1000.
The Harrison County Sheriff says in seconds, thieves are hooking up trailers from driveways and driving away undetected.
The crimes started being reported December 6th and one week later, the Harrison County Sheriff Department was investigating a total of five reports.
Sheriff Bruce Hampton says, "They're not too choosy, and what they're doing is likely taking them another state to sell."
From large car trailers ranging from $6,000 to smaller utility trailers with a price tag of a couple hundred dollars, the sheriff says if it's easy for you to to hook up your own trailer, then it's easy for the thief as well.
Hampton says, "it's winter time, the house is locked up, windows are down, you're in the house snug as a bug, but you don't know if someone is driving around the house."
A similar scenario likely occurred for the Mills family.
They were borrowing a trailer from a friend and keeping it by a barn in their back yard. They say it was last seen Thursday night and noticed missing Saturday morning.
Anita Mills says, "It's just frustrating that people have to steal in this day in age."
Sheriff Hampton says it's important for people to keep record of the VIN or serial number of expensive items like trailers, in the event they are stolen.
He says even a picture can help track the missing item down at times.
Latest Comments
Posted by: Ron Melancon Location: Glen Allen on Dec 14, 2010 at 01:44 PM
Wake up...your state has no registration for trailers.....so how are you going to find them. It is because of Kentucky a Virginia Women is dead due to a trailer that has no registration from your state. Shame on you... As you aware our main concern is "Loose Runaway Trailers" and 4 years ago we noticed a growing trend. See here..http://www.dangeroustrailers.org/Stolen_Utility_Trailers.html We have uncovered some facts that will simply disturb you. They are so cheaply made these Manufactures do not want to spend the money to put the Vin Numbers into the Metal. In fact they encourage Utility Trailers From Being Stolen so they can sell new ones and have the Insurance Companies pay for them if the customer has insurance. In fact Kentucky and South Carolina is the stolen trailer capitals of the United States. Fact: Trailers in Kentucky do not get registered and they do not have a license plate. So when they come unhitched and kill a Virginia Resident back in 2008 nobody knows who killed her because no identification is on the trailer. In addition Kentucky has NO SAFETY CHAIN LAW! http://dangeroustrailers.blogspot.com/2007/10/virginia-police-seeking-information-on.html http://dangeroustrailers.blogspot.com/2006/12/another-accident.html http://thehadenfamily.blogspot.com/ Fact: Trailers in South Carolina also do not need to get registered and when they come loose and kill TWO PARENTS in front of their children and nobody knows who killed them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM1I-tDixzo
Posted by: concerned Location: harrison co on Dec 14, 2010 at 11:53 AM
okay so are there no tracks of feet or tires that can be traced by the sheriffs dept. come on guys lets at least try to catch the thieves.
Local Boy Scout Troop Loses New Trailer To Thieves
Local Boy Scout Troop Loses New Trailer To Thieves
Trailer, $10,000 Worth Of Camping Equipment Stolen From Storage Lot
POSTED: 2:24 pm EDT November 6, 2010 UPDATED: 5:33 pm EDT November 6, 2010
ORLANDO, Fla. -- A local Boy Scout troop is out of nearly $10,000 worth of camping equipment and a new trailer after they said thieves stole their trailer from its storage lot in downtown Orlando.Boy Scout Troop 148 Troop Leader John Sowinski said he noticed the trailer missing from its storage lot near Brookhaven and Virginia drives Thursday afternoon and immediately notified Orlando police. Local security said they last saw the trailer Thursday morning."The loss is extremely disappointing to the troop," Sowinski said.Sowinski said the scouts purchased the new trailer in March using funds that the troop raised following their annual Christmas Tree sale."A troop losing its trailer is like a family losing its home," Sowinski said. "Each patrol's gear was on board, neatly packed and labeled - all of our stoves, life vests, patrol kitchens, paddles, the works. Scouting is about teaching boys to make ethical decisions throughout their lives while instilling patriotism and reverence to God. It will be quite a challenge to reconcile the lessons we are trying to teach with this loss."In addition to the 2009 Pace American Journey silver trailer, Sowinski said several tents, canopies, grills and other cooking equipment were also missing.Sowinski said they are reaching out to the community in helping to locate the missing trailer and camping supplies. A page on the troop's website, www.Troop148.us, outlines the missing equipment with photos so that the community might recognize the stolen goods at local pawn shows, garage sales and Internet shopping sites.Anyone with information on the stolen trailer is asked to call the Orlando Police Department at 407-246-2470.
FORT MYERS: A Cape Coral man is out of $30,000 worth of equipment and a trailer after it was stolen last Saturday from his business.
The trailer belonged to Scott Janson, owner of Scotty's Automotive in Fort Myers.
Janson moved his trailer to his business after he was told by Cape Coral Code Enforcement to move it.
He believes sometime between 1 p.m. Saturday and Monday morning the thieves came behind his business and took the trailer.
Frustrated with the slow investigation, Janson took the investigation into his own hands, looking at hours upon hours of security footage from neighboring businesses.
"I've noticed, late at night when I'm here after hours doing paperwork, that there's a lot of scrap people coming in here, looking for scrap metal, scrap aluminum, going through my dumpsters, they're going through my scrap tires that I leave outside," said Janson.
He believes someone went after his trailer, not knowing what was inside.
"It's the times we're in, obviously. But it's a shame something like this had to happen for me to do this," said Janson.
They're offering a reward for information on the theft.
Since then, Janson has installed a new security system at his business.
These Utility Trailers Companies make them so cheap they do not want to embedded the Vin number into the medal and have a NATIONAL REGISTRY.
What is going on is they steal them...and take off the Vin number that is on a cheap medal plate. Then they sell them on Craigs list any other means. Then for this example they come into Virginia and call it a 'HOMEMADE" trailer.
Our Crazy DMV has no way to verify that it is really "Homemade" and they issue a new Vin number on a Stolen Trailer. Then for example in South Carolina the Stolen Utility Trailer Capitol of the Nation you don't have to EVER register your trailer at all!!!!!
Because of our efforts the State of Illinois the only one in the Nation enacted a law that requires that you must prove it is really homemade before you get a vin number. The only problem is you simply have to go to another state and get a new vin number and you can register it back in Illinois.
To help we have a solution we own the National Utility Trailer Registry.org and .com where if we get somebody with common sense we can help enact a way to help stop this ongoing behavior.
Yet the Insurance companies, the Utility Trailer Companies and our Government does nothing to help but destroy our cause. Why? at the end of the day we the consumer pays for this.....How much more does my Country Want Me To DO???? I have almost lost it all.
LATTA — The Latta High School band will be in a pinch when it comes to transporting equipment this season after someone stole its utility trailer right off of the school’s property.
The trailer was last seen July 26 outside of the band room at the high school, she said. Band practice started Monday and that’s when officials noticed the trailer was stolen.
“I noticed it Monday because I tried to park where it was and I didn’t really notice it was gone until we figured out that it was gone and it dawned on me that I had parked there,” Latta High School Principal George Liebenrood said.
The trailer was purchased in 1998 by a parent who raised money throughout the community to help pay for the item’s more than $2,000 price tag.
Moore described the enclosed trailer as being 6-by-10 feet long with white with green and gold lettering with the Latta Viking Marching Band logo on it. Inside the trailer was the drum major’s podium, which is made of metal and steel.
School officials said the trailer provided an essential service for the band and officials did not know how they would transport instruments this season without it.
“We use this trailer for several things during the year, mainly for competitions and travel for our marching band,” Latta High School Band DirectorTyler Hutto said. “Mainly for our marching band, trying to load instruments and carry instruments to different places you know, there’s lots of equipment involved to take a band on the road, so we’re kind of upset that we’re not having that opportunity now.”
Police are working to retrieve footage from the school’s surveillance system, but it is proving to be a difficult task because there is such a large window of time in which the theft could have taken place.
The theft is especially bad for the school district in light of recent budget cuts.
On July 20, Dillon County School Board members voted to adopt a new funding system for the county. Five members voted for the new budget system, while three voted against it. The three who voted against it are all from the Latta school district, one of three districts that could be affected the most by the change.
The district has long-used a “per pupil” system for budgeting its schools. But now, the district will implement a tax-based system.
Dillon School Districts 1, 2 and 3 will have to redo their fiscal year budgets because of this change.
Kirby said his district would lose about $300,000 in funding.
Liebenrood said though officials do not yet know how or if they will be able to replace the trailer, they are hoping someone sees it and calls authorities or that the trailer is returned.
“It’s hard for me to believe that somebody would take something that kids use and it’s for their program and they know how much it means to the band program to have this trailer to travel to contests,” he said. “It’s just vital to the program and we desperately need it back.”
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the police department at (843) 752-4718 or the state Crime Stoppers hotline at (888) CRIME SC (274-6372). Callers need not reveal their identities.
Father and son arrested in theft of Midwest City police 'bait trailer”
FROM STAFF REPORTS
MIDWEST CITY — A father and son were arrested in connection with the theft of a "bait trailer” equipped with a police GPS tracing device.
Thomas Beach Scott Jr., 41, and his son, Kyle Travis Scott , 20, both of Oklahoma City , were arrested early Monday, Midwest City Police Chief Brandon Clabes said.
They were jailed on complaints of grand larceny, possession of a controlled and dangerous s...
Created: 12/14/2010 12:12:22 PM 
