True to their oath, members of Battle Ground Troop 344 of the Boy Scouts are well-prepared.
But not for the loss of a supply trailer loaded with all their shared camping gear, discovered stolen from the Pioneer Grange near Ridgefield.
A troop volunteer discovered that the trailer was missing Wednesday afternoon when he arrived to mow the lawn at the Grange, at 3803 N.E. 199th St,, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office said.
The trailer was last seen on June 29, said Tom Moore, scoutmaster for the approximately 40-member troop.
It had been secured to a gate with a double-chain and padlock, and also secured with a tongue (hitch) lock, Moore said.
Yet, thieves were able to make off cleanly with the trailer, purchased in 2008 — plus all the chains and lock — with little sign of trouble. They either hauled or towed it away, said Deputy Robert Carder of the sheriff’s office.
Value of the trailer was put at $2,000. Inside was communal camping equipment of an estimated equal value: Several Coleman-brand tents and stoves, lanterns, cooking kits and utensils, propane, dry boxes and first-aid kits, Moore told sheriff’s deputies.
“We had it all secured, we thought, But, nothing’s secure anymore,” said Moore, 39, in his second year as scoutmaster. The troop had an agreement with the Grange to store its equipment there.
The trailer is a gray, enclosed utility trailer, single-axle, 5 feet wide by 10 feet long, with a large Boy Scouts of America emblem (the fleur-de-lis, inside an inscribed circle) on the back. The trailer has a small side door and swing-open rear door.
It was licensed, with a standard Washington State plate: 754-1UF.
Neither the trailer nor its contents were insured, Moore said.
Loss of the equipment shouldn’t ruin a planned troop camping and canoeing outing this weekend at Battle Ground Lake State Park.
Troop 344 also will travel to Camp Pioneer near the Jefferson Wilderness area of Oregon’s Cascade Range for a week of summer camp later this month, Moore said.
“What’s really hurting us is the trailer,” he said. It was especially useful for camp outs in autumn and during the school year, when participation is higher, he said. “We were really counting on it.”
Anyone with information on the missing trailer should call 911, Carder said.
To reach Troop 344, via Moore: 360-518-5024 or 360-687-0944.
