The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and Eureka Police are trying to find a man and woman in connection with a string of thefts in early October. The two are suspected of stealing at least one pickup, tools, catalytic converters and other items in Jefferson County and Eureka, authorities reported.
The two are believed to have stolen a gray 2014 Ford F-150 pickup worth about $20,000 from a home in the 10500 block of Victoria Falls west of Festus during the overnight hours between Oct. 5 and Oct. 6. The victim said he kept the keys to the pickup on a table in his garage and the side door to the garage had been left unlocked, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
At about 3:15 a.m. Oct. 6, the stolen F-150 was seen in surveillance video outside a home in the 6700 block of Bailey Farm Road in Imperial, where the man and woman allegedly were seen stealing items from unlocked vehicles in the driveway. Two radar detectors, air pods, a wallet, federal ID and sub-woofer with an amp were stolen from a 2006 Subaru Impreza and a 2015 Nissan Versa. The items were valued at about $1,500, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
The stolen F-150 and a dark colored sedan ere seen leaving the area around the Imperial home following the alleged theft, the report said.
The man and woman, along with the stolen F-150, were seen again in surveillance video between 5-6 a.m. Oct. 6 at a home in the 5200 block of Sunflower, just west of the Eureka city limits in Jefferson County. Power and hand tools worth about $1,000 were stolen from the bed of a Chevrolet Silverado at that home, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
The stolen F-150 also reportedly was seen in surveillance video at Excel Utility Contractors, 18549 Hwy. 66, in Eureka, where catalytic converters and tools were stolen and a utility truck was damaged. That incident happened between about 6 p.m. Oct. 5 and 6 a.m. Oct. 6, Eureka Police reported.
A hole was cut in a fence surrounding the company’s rear parking lot, and converters were cut off a 2020 Chevrolet truck, 2012 Chevrolet dump truck and 2022 Ford F-350. A 2019 Chevrolet utility truck was damaged in an apparent attempt to steal the catalytic converter, the report said.
Multiple tools also were stolen from unlocked vehicles parked on the lot. The cost to repair the vehicles and the value of the stolen tools was set at $12,548.57, Eureka Police reported.
Some of the stolen tools were found near the hole in the fence and in a portable bathroom near the business. More of the company’s stolen tools were recovered at about noon Oct. 6 in a 2012 Kia Optima that Sheriff’s Office deputies recovered in the 900 block of Pevely Pointe Drive in Pevely, the report said.
The Kia also had been reported stolen, Eureka Police reported.
At about 3:30 a.m. Oct. 7, Sheriff’s Office deputies chased the F-150 and a black 2013 Chevrolet Silverado in the Eureka area. The Silverado had been stolen from the 1000 block of Maywood Drive west of Eureka, the report said.
The Silverado was valued at about $15,000. Both it and the F-150 eluded police, according to the report.
As of Oct. 19, neither the F-150 nor the Silverado had been recovered, and some of the stolen tools from Excel Utility had not been recovered. The Sheriff’s Office and Eureka Police also have not located the man or woman reportedly seen in the surveillance videos, authorities reported.
Anyone with information about the incidents or stolen pickups should call the Sheriff’s Office at 636-797-5515 or Eureka Police at 636-938-6600.