MessickFarmEqu
Super Member
Thieves recently stole four commercial lawn mowers worth almost $50,000 from a farm-equipment business in Mount Joy Township.
Police believe they were taken by a group of thieves who likely scouted out Messick's Farm Equipment on Merts Drive before swiping the tractors.
Investigators say the new, state-of-the-art tractors were taken sometime between Saturday night and Monday morning. A neighbor saw a truck parked in a suspicious area late Saturday and a car in a similar location early last week, according to officials.
Investigators believe the thieves might have been surveying the layout of the business before returning with a box truck for the heist.
"Somebody would have had to do their homework. You wouldn't come in there blindly," Northwest Regional Police Chief Sam Gatchell said Tuesday. "They had to know the lay of the land back there."
The thieves drove the tractors onto the truck and the truck was driven at least 350 yards through a field to get to a road for the getaway, Gatchell said. Police found tracks that showed the thieves' path.
Gatchell said Messick's is a huge operation with multiple large buildings on several acres. The business borders the Northwest Regional police station.
Gatchell said the thieves parked behind a barn by an old farmhouse, which concealed them from view.
The four tractors were among dozens of pieces of equipment kept outside on the property.
"It's my understanding this type of equipment has universal keys," the chief said.
Two of the tractors were 2009 Kubota model numbers ZD331 and ZD326P, and the others were 2009 Ferris models IS3100 and IS5100.
A neighbor might help police crack the case.
On June 1, the neighbor spotted a black Ford Tempo with no hubcaps parked after-hours in a "suspicious area" near the business. The man went outside his home and peered at the men in the car, who apparently noticed they were being spied on. The car backed away in reverse, and they fled.
Gatchell said that incident and the theft might be related.
"It could have been coincidental, but it just seems a little funny," he said.
Anyone with information about the theft or the black Ford Tempo should contact Northwest Regional police at 367-8481 or Lancaster City-County Crime Stoppers at (800) 322-1913.
Police believe they were taken by a group of thieves who likely scouted out Messick's Farm Equipment on Merts Drive before swiping the tractors.
Investigators say the new, state-of-the-art tractors were taken sometime between Saturday night and Monday morning. A neighbor saw a truck parked in a suspicious area late Saturday and a car in a similar location early last week, according to officials.
Investigators believe the thieves might have been surveying the layout of the business before returning with a box truck for the heist.
"Somebody would have had to do their homework. You wouldn't come in there blindly," Northwest Regional Police Chief Sam Gatchell said Tuesday. "They had to know the lay of the land back there."
The thieves drove the tractors onto the truck and the truck was driven at least 350 yards through a field to get to a road for the getaway, Gatchell said. Police found tracks that showed the thieves' path.
Gatchell said Messick's is a huge operation with multiple large buildings on several acres. The business borders the Northwest Regional police station.
Gatchell said the thieves parked behind a barn by an old farmhouse, which concealed them from view.
The four tractors were among dozens of pieces of equipment kept outside on the property.
"It's my understanding this type of equipment has universal keys," the chief said.
Two of the tractors were 2009 Kubota model numbers ZD331 and ZD326P, and the others were 2009 Ferris models IS3100 and IS5100.
A neighbor might help police crack the case.
On June 1, the neighbor spotted a black Ford Tempo with no hubcaps parked after-hours in a "suspicious area" near the business. The man went outside his home and peered at the men in the car, who apparently noticed they were being spied on. The car backed away in reverse, and they fled.
Gatchell said that incident and the theft might be related.
"It could have been coincidental, but it just seems a little funny," he said.
Anyone with information about the theft or the black Ford Tempo should contact Northwest Regional police at 367-8481 or Lancaster City-County Crime Stoppers at (800) 322-1913.