Gastonia Boy Scout troop loses camping gear to theft
Gastonia Boy Scouts will rough it more than normal this year after a trailer containing Troop 501 equipment was stolen this month.
Troop 501 Scoutmaster Ben Bonds said last week the trailer and equipment, with a combined value of approximately $7,000, disappeared from the troop's Scout hut near New Hope Presbyterian Church at 4357 S. New Hope Road between Feb. 12-15.
"My heart just sunk in my chest when I was told that it simply wasn't there at the building on Monday," Bonds said last week.
The trailer, a white enclosed unit that lacked logos, decals or lettering, was filled with both Troop equipment and the personal gear of Troop 501's six active Scouts, including its mobile kitchen "chuck boxes," pots and pans, tents and cooking gear, along with utensils, Dutch ovens and multiple propane lanterns, according to Bonds.