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Crooks Steal From 15 Storage Units

Pair Brings Same SUV In Each Theft

POSTED: 8:19 am CDT October 6, 2009
UPDATED: 8:50 am CDT October 6, 2009

Police in Knob Noster, Mo., are looking for thieves that have broken into 15 storage units in one storage complex over three days.

The thieves have taken everything from heavy-duty industrial equipment to irreplaceable heirlooms.

It's the irreplaceable items that property manager Russell Ward said makes him mad.

"They're obviously not upstanding citizens," Ward said.

The thieves first broke into seven units in mid-August, cutting locks at seven storage units. One of the units belonged to a young woman who had eight quilts made by her late grandmother in it.

"These have a lot of sentimental value," Ward said. "They can't be replaced -- ever. These are things her grandmother gave her before she passed on."

The thieves have broken in three times in the last month and a half and all of their actions have been caught on surveillance video.

The men on the surveillance tape are in a red GMC Yukon or Chevy Suburban with a black roof rack. The tapes also show the same one or two men cutting the locks off the units and putting items into the SUV.

"They act like they're shopping at Walmart," Ward said. "It's ridiculous. It makes me sick, really."

On Oct. 2 the truck came with a trailer hitched to the back in order to take an even bigger load.

"The last one was really insulting," Ward said. "They came down with a 16-foot, dual-axle construction trailer with the intent of possibly cleaning out every unit, I guess. I mean, they literally have no respect and no fear of the law."

So far, Ward said the thieves have emptied 15 units, a tenth of the total number of units in the complex. Ward said it's costing him more customers than he can afford.

Ward said he hopes somebody can recognize them men from the surveillance tape and call police.

"The video is good enough that if it was my neighbor I would recognize them," Ward said.

The owner of Red Oaks Storage is offering a $300 reward.

Police ask anyone with information to call the Knob Noster Police Department at 660-563-2233.

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