SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A local Boy Scout troop's future trips are on hold after thieves drove off with their equipment trailer worth thousands of dollars.
The scouts are hoping someone recognizes the thieves caught on surveillance video.
Since the 1980s, Boy Scout Troop 667 has been serving the community of Rancho Peñasquitos. What makes them unique is the fact that they have a sister Boy Scout troop.
"We were one of the first troops to have a boy troop and girl troop together," Assistant Scout Master Joost Bende said.
Bende said since 2019, the boys and girls have gone on several joint adventures. But future trips are on hold now, after their storage trailer parked at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Rancho Peñasquitos was stolen on Aug. 6.
"It contains some of our camping equipment and some of our hiking equipment, in terms of camping stoves, patrol boxes, some tents for the scouts," Bende said.
The surveillance video shows the thieves entering the church parking lot in a lifted maroon-colored truck. They head straight to the back, and at least two people start unlocking the trailer.
"It's really disheartening to see how quickly something like that can disappear," Bende said. "Three minutes and 30 seconds, and it was gone and out of the parking lot."
Bende said the value of everything inside was around $12,000. Not only is this a huge monetary loss, but a sentimental one. The trailer itself was a donation from a Boy Scout troop that folded decades ago.
"It had been in the scouts. The scouts had used it, and now on our watch, on our troop, it happened to get stolen," Bende said.
The San Diego Police Department has started an investigation but has no suspects at this time. So the troops are now asking for the public's help to identify the thieves, not just get their belongings back, but to start making memories again.
"We would definitely like to have the trailer back so if they, like scouts do, return it where they found it, we would take the trailer back in a heartbeat," Bende said.
Troop 667 and Troop 1667 have started a GoFundMe page for anyone wanting to donate.
