Southside police hope security camera recordings will help recover stolen truck, trailer

Donna Thornton, The Gadsden Times
·1 min read
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Southside police are asking the public for help finding this 2005 Ford F250 truck, stolen along with a 20-foot utility trailer, on May 22.
Southside police are asking the public for help finding this 2005 Ford F250 truck, stolen along with a 20-foot utility trailer, on May 22.

Southside police are looking for a stolen truck and trailer, taken at about 4:15 a.m. May 22 from Broken Spoke Auction on Alabama Highway 77, according to Chief Blake Ragsdale.

This screenshot from a security camera shows a truck and trailer stolen May 22 heading south of Alabama Highway 77. Southside police are examining any security camera footage they can find that might have recorded the stolen vehicle and a vehicle interest in the case.
This screenshot from a security camera shows a truck and trailer stolen May 22 heading south of Alabama Highway 77. Southside police are examining any security camera footage they can find that might have recorded the stolen vehicle and a vehicle interest in the case.

To do so, the department made public on its Facebook page a recording of the truck and stolen trailer, heading north. Driving just ahead of the truck there is what looks like a white mini-van driving just ahead of the truck. Police are interested in determining if that vehicle had anything to do with the theft, and they've asked the public for assistance in identifying it.

This screenshot shows a "vehicle of interest" that Southside police are trying to locate in connection with a truck and trailer theft May 22.
This screenshot shows a "vehicle of interest" that Southside police are trying to locate in connection with a truck and trailer theft May 22.

As part of the probe, Capt. Jay Freeman said, investigators are looking for any security camera footage taken that morning that might have captured the vehicles.

One source of such images is a camera that's been stationed at Pilgrim's Rest Road and Alabama Highway 77 for a few weeks. Freeman said the portable camera was borrowed from the Oxford Police Department, and police see it as another tool they can use to monitor traffic — or, in cases such as the stolen truck, to investigate crimes.

Officers can monitor the camera in real time, perhaps during heavy traffic times, in addition to reviewing its images.

Freeman said the camera can be moved to problem spots to monitor traffic or events.

For now, he hopes it will help investigators locate the truck and trailer.

The stolen truck is a white 2005 Ford F250 four-door, with VIN No. 1FTSW21505EC67355. The truck was pulling a 20-foot black utility trailer with a wooden floor, and gorilla assist cable for the gate.

Anyone with information about the vehicles is asked to call Freeman at 256-442-2255 or email jayfreeman@cityofsouthside.com.

Contact Gadsden Times reporter Donna Thornton at 256-393-3284 or donna.thornton@gadsdentimes.com.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Southside police check security cameras for signs of stolen truck