JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. – The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office is urging skid steer owners to ensure their equipment is properly secure. Skid steers, or compact construction machinery often used for landscaping, have been disappearing across Southern Oregon. Aaron Lewis with the Jackson County Sheriff’s office says at least 10 skid steers have been reported missing in the last month. The thieves apparently cut the GPS units off, and police are now relying on the VIN numbers to track them down. Lewis says a VIN number can be reported as stolen, and is forwarded to different law agencies.
“The VIN number goes a long way in actually recovering these. There was a couple of these cases where the victims didn’t have the VIN number. Then, it becomes very difficult in actually returning the item,” Lewis says.
For now, it’s best to keep these high value machines out of plain sight, and ideally secured with chains to prevent theft.
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