Expensive Caltrans Equipment Aiding Storm Damage Cleanup Stolen
Tuolumne County, CA – The hunt is on to find an expensive earthmoving vehicle stolen from a Caltrans cleanup site set up after winter storms blasted the Mother Lode last week.
Caltrans crews were surprised to find an excavator with an attached brush was gone from the site, located on Highway 132 near Spring Gulch Road and the Tuolumne County line, west of Coulterville when they returned to work around 4 a.m. on Feb. 1st.
Sonora CHP Unit spokesperson Steve Machado reports the equipment was last seen at 1 a.m. that morning. He adds that it was parked on the side of the roadway, but it is unclear if it was on a trailer or not when it was stolen. Clarke Broadcasting questioned whether there was any evidence that it may have been an inside job due to the size of the excavator and its weight, Machado replied,
“There’s nothing that indicates that an employee of Caltrans has anything to do with stealing it.”
Machado asks anyone who may have been in the area at the time of theft or have any information related to it or a suspect to call 209-984-3944 and asked for officer Edelman.
