Festus Police are investigating the recent theft of a backhoe from a construction site in the 200 block of North Fourth Street in Festus. The stolen backhoe is a 2001 John Deere, Police Chief Tim Lewis said.
“It was reported about 8:30 a.m. March 16,” he said. “The victim, a 58-year-old man from Herculaneum, advised his company has been putting in a basement. He last saw the backhoe March 8. When he returned March 16, it was gone.”
Lewis said he did not know how the backhoe was stolen.
“Evidently, someone had to know what he was doing,” Lewis said. “You can’t just steal a backhoe. They would have needed a trailer to steal it.”
He said he didn’t have a value for the backhoe but added that it “must be worth thousands.”
As of March 23, the backhoe had not been recovered and no arrests had been made, Lewis said. Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call Festus Police at 636-937-3646.