There was an article in one of the Heavey Equipment magazines that I read about thieves steeling equipment off of jobsites. Some of them had a shopping list and were out looking for specific pieces of equipment, while others would just grab what they could and take it down to Mexico. Once across the boarder, it was gone forever. One guy in the article said that he had invoices for the different construction companies and that he'd fill out a repair order for a piece of equipment that he'd see on the job. He'd pull up in a truck with a lowboy trailer, give them the work order and load up the machine. In a week or two when it didn't come back to the job, they'd start calling around and realize that they had been robbed. With equipment coming and going every day off of these jobs, nobody suspects anything.
There have also been stories of equipment showing up on farms just a few miles away from where they wre stolen. Nobody can check what's going on out in the woods, so it's pretty easy to keep a stolen tractor hidden from view.
Since they are steeling multiple pieces of equipment and hitting different dealers, I'd think they are hauling them out of state to sell at an auction where they know that nobody will be checking serial numbers. I'd think that getting rid of them all at once and as quickly as possible would be the best way to go. Selling them locally online or some other form of advertising would only work if it was one tractor. With multiple units, it's too easy to get caught.
I'd also wonder about some other dealers who might be looking for a way to get inventory for half price and sell it for what they can get. Been hearing about that too, but not so much with farm stuff.
Sorry to hear about this, hope they find those responsible and are able to return your tractors.
Eddie
