PARKER, Colo. — A local Boy Scout troop is desperate to get their camping gear back after thieves made off with a trailer packed with more than $18,000 worth of supplies.
Boy Scout Troop 16 in Parker was devastated to discover the trailer and cooking supplies, essential for their camping trips, were stolen. The lock was cut, and the trailer was swiped from the parking lot of Parker United Methodist Church last week.
“It’s one thing to steal from the Scouts, but in a church parking lot – I can’t believe the audacity of some people doing things like that,” Scoutmaster Sonya Lipman said.
On Saturday, an alert Scout parent found the exact trailer on Craigslist and called police. The troop leader said officers posed as civilians and got it back. However, the license plate and VIN plate were ripped off.
The man who posted the Craigslist ad reportedly told police he bought the trailer on July 27 and showed them a bill of sale. Police are still investigating the situation.
Even though the troop may have gotten the trailer back, all the supplies are still gone.
“The boys — when they come into the troop — they learn how to cook right away. We don’t cook for them. They immediately start cooking and cleaning and maintaining that equipment, so now they’ve lost that ability to do that,” Lipman said. “It’s the custom-built patrol boxes, full of cutlery, pots, pans, stoves – everything.”
The troop, made up of 110 boys, is dealing with thesetback.
“These boys do so much for the community and it wasn’t just our troop that was affected. We use this equipment to let the packs and Cub Scouts borrow the equipment,” Lipman said.
The troop plans to check local pawn shops as well as other websites in hopes of getting some of the gear back.
In the meantime, the troop has set up a PayPal account for donations. If you’re interested in helping, you can send donations for new supplies to payments@bsa16.org on the PayPal website.