Authorities find fire survivor's stolen ATV

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

The Bourbon County Sheriff's Office recovered a four-wheeler Friday that was stolen from a Fort Scott man two days after his house burned to the ground in November.

Charles Rees got back his 2004 Bombardier all-terrain vehicle. It was valued at $4,000.

He kept hoping he'd see the machine again. So much so that he offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to its recovery. Rees never had to pay the reward money.

"I don't have a lot of $4,000 items to throw away. I'm glad I got it back," Rees said Tuesday.

Thieves stole the four-wheeler from Rees' property on Nov. 23, two days after fire destroyed his house at 959 Yale Road. Rees and his sister escaped the burning house but his dog, Jake, died in the fire.

At 9:15 p.m. Friday, Undersheriff Ron Gray noticed a four-wheeler cross U.S. Highway 54 onto Charles Street in Bronson. He followed the four-wheeler through the town. The rider or riders spotted Gray but didn't stop. After weaving around city streets, he finally noticed the machine abandoned and parked near the intersection of Bay and Main streets.

At the time, Gray didn't know the four-wheeler was stolen until he discussed the incident with another deputy who informed him the machine matched the description of Rees's stolen four-wheeler.

The vehicle identification numbers on the theft reported matched the numbers on the machine Gray had recovered.

The camouflaged four-wheeler apparently was hot-wired, Gray said. It was covered in mud, but overall didn't sustain heavy damage.

Gray had the machine towed and returned to Rees on Saturday. Rees said he immediately took it to a shop for repair in Nevada, Mo.

Who was riding the four-wheeler and who stole the machine is currently being investigated and no information was provided concerning those aspects.