Stolen grader recovered in Montana

SAGLE — A Bonner County road grader believed stolen on Christmas has turned up in Helena, Mont., according to Bonner County sheriff’s officials.

The Caterpillar 140M2 commercial road grader was parked behind the Westmond Store. It was tracked more than 300 miles away via its on-board GPS unit, said Det. Sgt. Gary Johnston.

“The good news is we have a person in custody in Montana and we have the grader recovered,” he said.

Dusty A. Hall, 62, was arrested for possession of stolen property, Johnston said. Investigators are still trying to determine if Hall took part in the actual theft of the $150,000 piece of heavy equipment.

The grader, meanwhile, is being analyzed by the manufacturer.

“They’re going to have it taken to Cat and have it looked at, make sure its mechanically sound, estimate the damage and get it back in service,” Johnston said.

It’s not immediately clear how the perpetrator of the theft got the machine started or exactly how it wound up in Montana.

The road grader is a bulky piece of equipment. It has an overall length of more than 29 feet, according to Cat. The height to the top of cab is more than 10 feet and the grader has a wheelbase of over 20 feet.

Heavy equipment theft is not prevalent, but not unheard of either, according to Johnston. Just this year, a backhoe stolen in Spokane County was found in Blanchard and an excavator stolen in Kootenai County was found near Spirit Lake.

Johnston said heavy equipment thieves capitalize on the fact that such vehicles don’t require Vehicle Identification Number inspections or registration.

“They’re not like a car that you’re going to run the risk of getting stopped in or have to have plates on,” he said.