The Grant County Sheriff’s Office has recovered a stolen backhoe that they say was driven from central Oregon to Mattawa.
A deputy spotted the 2020 John Deere 410L on a property in the 30000 block of State Route 243 and questioned the property owner about its presence as it appeared out of place and had two broken windows.
The property owner was unable to provide a verifiable explanation for the backhoe, and an investigation revealed that it had been reported stolen from a construction site near Bend, Ore., on February 9.
The rightful owner of the backhoe also provided GPS tracking information indicating that it had been driven approximately 250 miles from the site to Mattawa at its top speed of 25 mph.
The backhoe, which is valued at $160,000, was collected by its rightful owner and the investigation into its theft is ongoing.
