Skid steer stolen from local ranch, information sought

OVANDO – Thursday morning, April 21, Rolling Stone Ranch contacted the Powell County Sheriff's Office and reported that their tracked 2009 New Holland 185 skid steer was stolen from their property. The piece of equipment was last seen Wednesday night around 7 p.m. at approximately mile marker 44 on Highway 200. The investigation is ongoing.

Brady Stone of Rolling Stone Ranch said he and his father Jim dropped the skid steer off on their property on the north side of Highway 200 on Monday. They were working on moving some brush but did not return Tuesday or Wednesday.

Stone said Jim drove by Wednesday evening and saw the skid steer still parked a half-mile off Highway 200 on one of their ranch's backroads. When Stone drove by around 11 p.m., there were no lights or anything that would have made him suspicious.

When Stone returned to the Ranch at 7:30 a.m. Thursday morning, the skid steer was gone. However, there were no tracks in the fresh snow that reportedly started around 4 a.m.

"Somewhere between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. is when it took place," Stone said.

"Somebody had to go to great lengths to get to where it was and unfortunately the property owner is now a victim to this theft," Powell County Sheriff Gavin Roselles said.

Stone said the key was left in the skid steer "so there was no issue there for them."

When they returned Thursday afternoon the snow had melted and they could see the tracks. Stone said it appeared to be a 20-30-foot gooseneck dually trailer with ramps that came down. He guessed it was a large truck to be able to pull that big of a trailer with equipment.

Roselles confirmed the assessment.

"Due to the size of the machine, somebody would have had to bring a trailer in to haul it away. There was no indication that the skid steer was driven away," Roselles said.

"That's what bugs me the most... it is somebody with money," Stone said. "But I guess they could have stolen the truck and trailer too."

Attached to the skid steer was an Anbo grapple. Stone added the body of the skid steer has very little cosmetic damage. Although there was other large logging equipment parked in the same location, nothing else was stolen.

"Unfortunately, in the world today, people need to be careful with their equipment," Roselles said. "It is not just our homes or our cars that are at risk, as this shows, even equipment parked in a field in a ranch is susceptible to theft."

Roselles said there is no indication that this is tied to any other crimes at this time. However, even though Ovando is remote, there are bad things that happen in Ovando. To help avoid being a victim, Roselles recommends removing keys in equipment, keeping doors locked and taking necessary steps to keep property safe. If someone sees something suspicious, call local law enforcement.

"It is definitely an eye opener," Stone said. "It is no fun to take keys and have to lock everything up but I guess these days you can't trust everybody anymore."

The Stones and Powell County Sheriffs Office are using social media, posters and articles to help spread the word about the missing skid steer.

"In many cases, it is the insight of the people that are out there looking and looking out for other people that often times put a resolution to this," Roselles said. "As people are out and about, if people could notify us if they see anything suspicious or just see a vehicle matching that which was posted to contact us. We would like to be able to follow up on it."

If anyone has any information please contact Powell County Sheriff's Office at 406-846-2711.