One of the stolen pieces of equipment. See the other items below.
Nelson Zandbergen
Farmers Forum
GREY COUNTY — In the dark of night, thieves got away with a large flat-bed trailer loaded with used farm equipment from Brindley Farm Equipment in Markdale. The stolen equipment alone was worth over $150,000, while the nearly new trailer — owned by an American trucking contractor — was valued at $122,000, dealership owner Gord Brindley told Farmers Forum.
Video surveillance shows a transport truck, equipped with a sleeper unit, pulling into the Highway 10 yard at just after 3 a.m. on Nov. 10. The rig backed up to the trailer, which was preloaded with farm equipment and destined to go to an auction buyer in Ohio the next day.
Brindley said the truck was accompanied by a pickup truck that used its headlights to provide light to hook up the trailer. “They were in the yard seven minutes,” Brindley said.
In their haste, the thieves failed to notice that equipment on the trailer wasn’t chained down, he added. As a result, a plow fell off the trailer and was heavily damaged about 8 km from the dealership.
Police believe the truck and trailer went through Flesherton shortly after leaving Brindley’s operation. A dealership employee noticed the missing trailer the next morning and called police at about 8:55 a.m.
There were six stolen machines including two yellow skid steer loaders — a John Deere unit with tracks and a Gelhl — a beige broadcast fertilizer unit, a red Case JX55 tractor, a blue Ford 3000 tractor, and an older Ago Allis cab tractor with attached front sweeper.
A frustrated Brindley said it’s the worse theft he’s ever had. He said that his insurance company, the equipment buyer’s insurance company and the trucking contractor’s insurance company are still sorting out coverage for the loss. “Our insurance company says it’s not at fault,” he said.
Grey Bruce OPP investigators are looking for more video footage that might exist in the Flesherton area.
Contact police at 1-888-310-1122 if you can help. Or leave anonymous tips — with a chance of a $2,000 cash reward — with Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at crimestop-gb.org
