LYNNWOOD, Wash. — Sometime last weekend, thieves entered a Lynnwood construction site, loaded a $65,000 mini excavator on to a trailer and drove away.
It’s one of many recent heavy equipment thefts.
The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office confirmed nine pieces of heavy equipment were taken from sites just in the last three months for a total value of $270,000. During that same time, 89 pieces of equipment were stolen across Washington and Oregon.
Of the recent nine thefts in Snohomish County, only two pieces have been recovered. According to KIRO 7’s news partners at the Everett Herald, only 20 percent of stolen heavy equipment is usually recovered.
Snohomish County sheriff's detectives said when heavy equipment is stolen, it's often moved out of state quickly and sold for pennies on the dollar in cash deals.
KIRO
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