Unidentified thieves steal welder, crash stolen hay truck through gate in Carnation
CARNATION, Wash. - King County sheriff's deputies are asking for the public's help to ID two suspects who stole from the hard-working owner of a hay company - setting them back two weeks - and costing them thousands of dollars.
On June 12, the suspects pulled up to a store in the Carnation area that shares a fence with the hay company. They were in a blue Ford F-series pickup truck.
One suspect climbed into the fenced yard and stole a welder that was then loaded in the blue pickup. The suspect returned and climbed over the fence a second time to steal a 1989 flatbed truck. The thief was so reckless that he failed to open the company gate and rammed right through it.
The suspect turned onto the highway with that fence still lodged between the truck's bumper and grill with sparks flying.
A King County Sgt. spotted it at about 11:20 PM near the 8800 blk. of Carnation Duvall Road, tried to get the suspect to pull over but decided not to chase after it for the safety of the public.
The truck was later found abandoned about 20 minutes later in a cul-de-sac in the 31500 blk. of Morrison St. in Carnation. It had significant transmission and ignition damage.
The second suspect drove the pickup truck away, with the stolen welder in the back.
Valley Hay owner Hannah Woodiwiss says that even though they got their truck back, it started to have some issues after what happened. They also say they don't expect to ever see that welder again.
"We work all the time. we work really hard for what we do. We're outside in the rain, in the snow, in the heat, trying to provide a service to folks. You know, it is manual labor. It's not easy. As he knows, that welder wasn't super crazy nice, that truck wasn't super crazy nice. We don't have a lot, but we're out there trying to be good members of society so it would be great if they could maybe get a job and go buy their own stuff because whatever they're selling that for, whatever reason they might need it, they're not going to get much out of it. So, it really just affected us more than it could have ever affected them," said owner Hannah Woodiwiss.
Deputies say this is a tight-knit community, so if you know something that could help detectives identify the supsects, please submit an anonymous tip using the P3 Tips app on your smartphone or call 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers will pay you a cash reward of up to $1,000 for any information that leads to an arrest. You can also call the King County Sheriff's Office non-emergency line (206-296-3311). Please reference case C21018314.
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