BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — The owner of a stolen cargo trailer with four all-terrain vehicles, valuing a total of about $100,000, is offering a $5,000 reward for any information that will get his property returned to him.
The owner declined an interview and Broken Arrow Police have not released his name while the investigation is on-going.
Police are asking for the public’s help in finding the person or people who stole the trailer and ATVs from a property near East Kenosha and South 241st.
Melissa and Nathan Forrest are neighbors of the victim whose property was stolen.
The Forrests live on Finally Farm, appropriately named for the culmination of dream and determination to own their own farm. It’s on a quiet, rural road in the city, where burglaries like this are uncommon.
They sit on their porch swing and wave to the neighbors, even the state troopers, who drive by their home.
It’s a close-knit community, so when someone stole the cargo trailer with the ATVs across the street from their farm, they were surprised.
”I was…because I didn’t know anything about it,” Melissa Forrest said. “The owners haven’t been around the last couple of weeks, so we were unaware.”
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She said she believes whoever stole them was watching the landowner’s movements as he is moving to the area.
The Forrests have lived on their farm for 25 years and this incident gives Melissa pause.
”It’s not as safe,” she said. “We always feel like being a little more rural, and not so much in the city, we’re just a little more away from that, susceptible to crime, so it’s concerning.”
Public Information Officer for the Broken Arrow Police Department Ethan Hutchins is asking the public for possible tips.
”If you know who this did, please give us a call,” he said. “Turn that person in. Or at the very least, return the property, right, because these four-wheelers, altogether, cost nearly $100,000.”
And the crime of taking them cost the Forrests, who look out for their neighbors, some peace of mind.
Melissa said she is considering investing in more security for their property.
“Maybe we need to re-look at that and re-visit it,” she said. “Maybe look at more technology that will make us feel [safer].”
That’s something they thought their rural lifestyle already provided.