Nearly a dozen stolen vehicles recovered since December in Miami County

OSAWATOMIE, Kan. (KCTV) - The Miami County Sheriff’s Office has recovered multiple stolen vehicles and trailers from a property just south of Osawatomie over the last few months.

Undersheriff Matthew Kelly said that between Dec. 21 and Mar. 9 deputies had conducted five investigations at the same location that turned up stolen property. Most recently, he said, they found a stolen trailer and another trailer that had an altered VIN.

Other stolen vehicles in past investigations included motorcycles and an RV. The combined value of the thefts was more than $110 thousand. Three suspects have been arrested.

Kelly said that none of the vehicles belonged to Miami Co. residents, and had come from as far away as Topeka and the KC Northland.

The Osawatomie property appeared to be a machine shop. Kelly said it was unclear whether it was a licensed business, but that the suspects had been working there.

“We’re working with the county to see if there’s a business there in good standing and if there’s anything that needs to go from there to make sure citizens aren’t dealt the hand that we’re seeing,” Kelly said.

Lindsey Adams has been trying to get her van back from the shop for several months now. It was her family’s only means of transportation. When it broke down in the fall she had it taken to the shop through a family connection. But she said she didn’t hear back from the business for weeks afterward. She eventually lost her job because she did not have reliable transportation.

“I didn’t know how to get it back, they had my keys, everything,” she said.

Eventually police called to tell her that her license plates had been found inside a stolen car driven by one of the suspects. She said she has still not been able to recover her van.

“We’re Just skating by. If we’re evicted we won’t even have a van to live in,” Adams said. “For them to take advantage of us like that is just heartbreaking.”

Copyright 2023 KCTV. All rights reserved.