By DANA TIMS/Lincoln Chronicle
Whoever stole a locked trailer from the rear of a Newport parking area last week likely had no idea it was filled with camping gear for a Boy Scout troop.
That means Scout Troop 240 is now out sleeping bags, tents, camp-cooking equipment, tools and related items.
“It’s been a real gut punch,” said Jason Birrer, the troop’s scoutmaster. “It’s like stealing ice cream from children. Just really disheartening.”
The good news, however, is that the trailer – minus almost all of its contents — has been recovered.
Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputies, acting on citizen reports, found the trailer Friday in a rural area between Waldport and Yachats. All identifying marks had been scrubbed off, Birrer said, and the trailer’s wiring had been cut.
Details about who stole the trailer and the whereabouts of its contents remain unclear, Birrer told the Lincoln Chronicle.
“What I do know is that I picked the trailer up and am storing it in a safe location,” he said. “Now we can start the process of rebuilding our inventory.”
Birrer and the four active members of his troop, ages 11 through 14, had asked for help from both police and community members in finding the trailer, which was parked about 50 feet off a downtown Newport-area street.
“We meet Monday nights and the trailer was there the last time we met,” he said. “When we met again this past Monday (Nov. 10), it was gone.”
The trailer was locked and parked near the back of the Masonic Lodge’s lot, he said. It was not visible from the street.
“Someone would have had to walk into the parking lot and done some poking around to even see it,” Birrer said.
Police are seeking footage from security cameras that could have recorded the theft, he said.
Included in the raft of stolen items were tools the troop uses the help repair memorial benches along Newport’s bayfront. Also gone are two backpacks, nine tents donated to the troop by the Siletz Tribe, camp stoves, Dutch oven equipment, coolers and other camp supplies.
“I don’t think whoever took it knew what they had,” said Birrer, adding that the trailer was not marked with Troop 240 identifying insignias.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to accept donations to replace the items. Anyone with information about the trailer and its contents can contact Newport police or Birrer at 541-272-9938.
“It’s definitely a big loss for such a small troop like us,” he said. “But these boys are resilient and they’ll recover. It will just take some time.”
- Dana Tims is an Oregon freelance writer who contributes regularly to Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at DanaTims24@gmail.com
