‘It’s a rebuilding process’ | Gastonia Boy Scout troop working to recover thousands of dollars worth of stolen equipment
Troop 501 Scoutmaster says without the stolen trailer filled with camping equipment they will have to reconsider future plans for the troop Author: Briana Harper (WCNC) Updated: 12:11 AM EST February 25, 2021
GASTONIA, N.C. Members of Boy Scout Troop 501 in Gastonia were alerted to a startling surprise last week when they learned someone stole their trailer and thousands of dollars worth of camping equipment inside.
Investigators believe the theft happened sometime between Feb. 12-15.
The trailer would typically be found locked up outside the scout hut at New Hope Presbyterian Church. Yet somehow a suspected theft managed to break those locks and take off with the trailer and everything that was in it including tents, tarps, lanterns and a portable kitchen.
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.