(Sibley)– Several northwest Iowa law enforcement agencies are involved in an ongoing investigation involving the thefts of some vehicles. The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office says it received a report December 21st of a suspicious vehicle parked at a hog site southeast of Melvin. It was described as a white Ford F150 pickup with a small trailer attached to it. At about the same time authorities in O’Brien were looking for a 2014 F150 white Ford pickup that had been reported stolen from Hartley. Authorities found a 2012 F250 Ford pickup registered to a person from rural Melvin parked near the location where the 2014 pickup was reported stolen. It was later determined the 2012 pickup had also been taken without the owner’s permission.
Once at the hog site, the reporting party told the Osceola county deputy the white Ford pickup had left but the trailer was still there and that there was now a 2019 Textron parked by one of the buildings. Authorities say the license plates on the trailer had been removed, but a check on the registration showed it was owned by the Farmer Coop Elevator of Sioux Center. A check on the registration of the Textron indicated it was owned by a person from Melvin. The owners were contacted and it was learned both the side by side and trailer had been stolen from Melvin.
O’Brien county authorities then received a report of a pickup and trailer in the ditch just north of Sanborn. A deputy arrived and found the pickup had left but the trailer was still there. Several items from the stolen F150 were found at that location. The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office contacted the registered owner of the trailer and confirmed it had been taken from his residence without his knowledge.
Later that same morning, authorities say the stolen white Ford F150 was found parked by the former Pizza Ranch building in Sanborn. O’Brien county authorities reviewed surveillance video from a nearby convenience store showing the stolen vehicle and the person driving it. The video also showed the suspect entering the store. They say the suspect has been identified by a witness, but the person’s name isn’t being released as the case remains under investigation by the Osceola and O’Brien County Sheriff’s Offices and the Hartley and Sanborn Police Departments.
