Stolen Skid Steer Recovered in Plum

The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office recovered a stolen skid steer loader on Tuesday, July. 28.

According to Sgt. Angela Lala of the Sheriff’s Office, the equipment was reported stolen by a Home Depot store in Austin. Lala said a suspect rented the 2019 Gehl RT135 skid steer using a stolen ID and then never returned it.

The skid steer was equipped with an electronic tracking device. Austin Police Department contacted the Sheriff’s Office after tracking the skid steer to Fayette County. Deputies found the equipment at a property on Wonderful Road in Plum.

“The guy who had it did not know it was stolen,” Lala said. “It was probably a scam. The suspect rented it using a stolen ID and then sold it to this guy. He’s a victim as well.”

Lala said the man in Plum who had the equipment handed it over without incident. She estimated the value of the skid steer at $19,000. Lala said the man in Plum did not speak English well and that she was not yet able to determine how much he paid for the stolen equipment.

The suspect remains at large and investigators do not know his name.

Lala said similar cases have been reported in the Houston area.

“This may be part of a big fraud ring,” she said.