PaGlenn
Well-known Member
- Location
- New Milford Penna
From the Nov 2 Susquehanna 'Rocket Courier'
Local farmer Ralph Newton had a very puzzled look on his face when he walked out to the barn on Sunday morning and noticed that the dump truck loaded with roughly 20 tons of soybeans he?d parked inside of it the day before was missing.
He pondered for a second, trying to figure out if he?d had a short episode of memory loss and parked the truck elsewhere because, after all, who would steal a 1977 Mack dump truck full of soybeans?
When he shortly thereafter realized that the truck had in fact been stolen from his family?s farm along Terrytown Road in Terry Township, he contacted the police to investigate.
Around 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, police found the vehicle crashed over an embankment just a halfmile north of Newton?s farm. It had tipped over on its passenger side, dumping the entire 40,000-pound load of soybeans on the lawn of a vacant summer home along the riverbank.
After meeting with an insurance agent on Monday, Newton says the loss could be as much as $30,000 if the truck is deemed totaled. He said the soybeans could have been salvaged and sold to market if not for the rainy weekend weather that rendered them useless.
According to reports from neighbors, the truck was heard driving by around 1 a.m. on Sunday morning, slowly working its way down the steep and muddy private roadway at the north end of Terrytown Road that leads to the group of seasonal residences.
At one point, the carjacker hit a tree along the narrow roadway with the truck and backed up in order to keep going, Newton explained at the crash scene. Within just 50 yards of the road?s dead end, it slid sideways down the property?s embankment and tipped over.
?Whoever it was, they didn?t have much of a plan other than to vandalize something,? said Newton, who is curious as to why the suspect didn?t drive southbound from the barn to the road?s outlet at Route 187 upon stealing the truck.
Newton said it was possible the suspect was intoxicated during the incident, which would explain the poor escape plan.
Newton?s father, Arden, who passed away in 2002, purchased the farm in 1975. In all the time since, Newton said he ?can?t remember anything being stolen from the property,? especially a vehicle.
His wife, Jennifer, posted a photo of the wreckage to her Facebook page on Sunday, offering a cash reward to anyone who provides conclusive information that leads to an arrest of the suspect. Anyone with information is asked to call state police at Towanda at 570-265-2186
Local farmer Ralph Newton had a very puzzled look on his face when he walked out to the barn on Sunday morning and noticed that the dump truck loaded with roughly 20 tons of soybeans he?d parked inside of it the day before was missing.
He pondered for a second, trying to figure out if he?d had a short episode of memory loss and parked the truck elsewhere because, after all, who would steal a 1977 Mack dump truck full of soybeans?
When he shortly thereafter realized that the truck had in fact been stolen from his family?s farm along Terrytown Road in Terry Township, he contacted the police to investigate.
Around 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, police found the vehicle crashed over an embankment just a halfmile north of Newton?s farm. It had tipped over on its passenger side, dumping the entire 40,000-pound load of soybeans on the lawn of a vacant summer home along the riverbank.
After meeting with an insurance agent on Monday, Newton says the loss could be as much as $30,000 if the truck is deemed totaled. He said the soybeans could have been salvaged and sold to market if not for the rainy weekend weather that rendered them useless.
According to reports from neighbors, the truck was heard driving by around 1 a.m. on Sunday morning, slowly working its way down the steep and muddy private roadway at the north end of Terrytown Road that leads to the group of seasonal residences.
At one point, the carjacker hit a tree along the narrow roadway with the truck and backed up in order to keep going, Newton explained at the crash scene. Within just 50 yards of the road?s dead end, it slid sideways down the property?s embankment and tipped over.
?Whoever it was, they didn?t have much of a plan other than to vandalize something,? said Newton, who is curious as to why the suspect didn?t drive southbound from the barn to the road?s outlet at Route 187 upon stealing the truck.
Newton said it was possible the suspect was intoxicated during the incident, which would explain the poor escape plan.
Newton?s father, Arden, who passed away in 2002, purchased the farm in 1975. In all the time since, Newton said he ?can?t remember anything being stolen from the property,? especially a vehicle.
His wife, Jennifer, posted a photo of the wreckage to her Facebook page on Sunday, offering a cash reward to anyone who provides conclusive information that leads to an arrest of the suspect. Anyone with information is asked to call state police at Towanda at 570-265-2186
