A backhoe stolen from Bend was located 258 miles away in a small town in the middle of Washington state. But it’s not the distance that raises eyebrows. It’s the way the backhoe arrived that law enforcement says is pretty unique.
The Grant County Sheriff’s Office believes he likely drove himself there, about a five-hour drive.
“It would have been about a 10-hour trip for someone with that backhoe to bring it back from Bend, Ore., to Mattawa, Washington,” said Deputy Kyle Foreman, public information officer for the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.
The stolen backhoe belongs to Bend-based Taylor NW. When deputies saw it, they realized something was wrong.
“Deputies patrolling the southern end of Grant County, Washington noticed a John Deere backhoe out of place parked on a property known to law enforcement,” Foreman said.
GPS tracking allowed deputies to see that the tractor had been headed into their county from Bend via public roads, highways and surface streets. During the entire trip, the backhoe never went faster than 25 mph.
“We’ve had stolen vehicles that have been towed or towed by another vehicle, but certainly not a backhoe that traveled down what appears to be public roads at 25 miles per hour,” Foreman said. “So this is the first time I’ve ever experienced this type of robbery.”
Foreman said arrests are pending and charges are likely.
“We can only assume that the person who stole the vehicle and drove it here had no idea it was being GPS tracked and that we could use that to press charges against them,” Foreman said.
Taylor NW has recovered their backhoe and brought it back to Bend.
