A trailer belonging to Central Oregon Trail Alliance (COTA) was stolen in Madras last Saturday morning. The trailer was filled with specialized tools used to build and maintain trails.
Madras chapter representative for COTA Brennan Morrow says the crime may have been planned.
“They ran over the fence line in the back of the property out here in the East Hills, came in, cut everything loose and ran with the trailer through the back way which was a very hard 4-wheel drive,” Morrow said. “We think there was a plan to do this, taking jeep tracks through private property and other things to get there.”
Morrow says the theft is a major blow to the organization’s efforts in building and maintaining the trails Central Oregonians enjoy every day.
“Those tools are critical for us building trails, and the trails that we’ve built- we have over 20 miles of trails throughout the Madras East Hills for horseback riders, other trails for mountain bikers,” he said. “We’re one of the first trail systems in Central Oregon that allows e-bikes. We’ve really worked to create a community here to build the trails and have fun on the trails.”
Morrow has a message for the person or people who may have stolen the trailer.
“Please, just return what you have back to us,” Morrow said. “It’s for the community that we’re actually working. These trails are not from the city. This is volunteers that have put in hard earned time and money to create this trail system. We really needs those tools to be able to do our job.”
Morrow says it is still unclear as to why the trailer was stolen.
If you’ve seen that trailer, you can report it to COTA or to Madras Police Department.
