Trailer stolen, family finds it just before being scrapped
»Play Video
VANCOUVER, Wash. – One family tracked down their stolen trailer just minutes from it being scrapped, but they still can't use it because of the damage it received.
Before it was stolen, Larry Van Dyne's trailer was in good shape. He built the trailer for his grandfather, Bob Cummings.
Van Dyne found it at Rivergate Scrap Metals in Portland.
"I've been told by the Rivergate people that the thief actually brought it in three times that day," Van Dyne said. "And the third time, he just left the whole trailer with his scrap in it."
That makes him and his grandfather think the trailer came into the scrap yard in usable condition. So they want the scrap yard to pay for the damage.
"I'm surprised they would even think of scrapping something like this that can be re-used plenty more times," Cummings said. "There was nothing wrong with this trailer. This was a good trailer."
"When you have a piece of property come in that's usable, that ought to throw up a red flag. And it didn't. They just said, 'Oh, we get 'em in all the time,'" Van Dyne said.
You have to have a license for a trailer in Washington but not in Oregon.
A KATU News reporter and videographer went to Rivergate to ask if they checked to see who owned it.
"We don't talk about what's between us and our customers," said a man you works at the scrap yard.
The KATU crew was told it was none of their business.
Van Dyne said Rivergate didn't even want to give the trailer back, and then wanted him to pay.
"I was thinking they were just as crooked as the thieves themselves," he said.
You can buy a lock for a trailer's hitch, which keeps people from hooking up to it. Van Dyne and Cummings said they'll put one on their next trailer and maybe a burglar alarm to go along with it.
This story came to us as a news tip. If you have a story for us, email us at newstips@katu.com. Your tip goes straight to our newsroom.
Absolutely no doubt that the yard has photo ID and would be more than cooperative in a prosecution. I haul scrap in there everyday. It is ILLLEGAL for them to disclose customer information without the police being notified, and permission granted by the authorities. KATU should report the news and maybe do a little "research" before tainting a reputable businesses reputation.
I could have sworn that the laws were changed in OR about two years ago, requiring valid ID and businesses to mail out checks instead of giving cash. Am I mistaken about this?
@Owt_Raged No, you are correct. As a GM of a MAJOR worldwide hospitality company even we have our checks mailed to us.
@Greg11 Oh so you are the one that hires the illegals..
OK
"You have to have a license for a trailer in Washington but not in Oregon" But that wont stop the parasitic dmv from trying to get you to register one (a proven dmv scam).
Trailer made from the back end of a pickup. No title. No license. No way the scrap yard would know that it wasn't left to be recycled. Not sure they are to blame.
Once again, simple solution to the scrap metal funding of addicts and thieves.
Â
1) All persons selling scrap metal must have valid photo ID with an address on it.
2) All payment for scrap is issued by check.
3) All checks are mailed to address on photo IDs.
Â
The 'scrap for meth' business would dry up in a matter of days after the passage of the law. But, of course, so would a good chunk of the scrap metal yards business. Which is why lobby groups hired by metal recycling yards are opposed to any such changes. As it is, they can claim innocence under the guise of 'we follow the letter of the law', and still accept questionable sales for pennies on the dollar of what they turn around and sell it for.Â
Â
It wasn't too long ago that I read about manhole covers and storm drain grates showing up at a scrap metal yard.... At that point, it's really hard for me to believe that there are some yards out there that are complicit in the problem.Â
@MarkKpic Yeah and along with that "simple solution" we should have to show photo id to elect the most powerful man on the planet!
Sounds like the scrap yard business would be a tough one to be in these days, at least if you were trying to be law-abiding... Â More and more reports of stolen stuff that gets sold off to the scrap yards... and the reputations of all of them are tarnished by those who "look the other way" and take in anything and everything "no questions asked"...
While I'm sorry their trailer was stolen it isn't up to the scrap yard to analyze each piece that comes in to see whether it is useful or not. Do you know how many broken washers we have brought in? You would have to hook each one up to see if it is actually broken, works poorly or works fine. Â We have brought in cars that run but aren't worth making them run well. We have one car that will go to the scrap yard soon that runs fine but is such a gas hog and is in no way a car anyone would want to pay for. They require titles and paperwork for cars but they sure can't ask for a receipt for every darn thing that goes to scrap.
Â
Meanwhile, the scrap yard paid the thief for the trailer and now they have given it back to the owner so the scrap yard is out some money. The scrap yards I have dealt with are very helpful with this type of thing. I used to work for a metal shop and we got robbed a couple of times and the scrap yard gave us back a significant amount of metal and cooperated with the police and produced information that meant the thief was arrested in both cases.
I think they should shut down the scrap yard... sounds like there is too much illegal activity there.
It looks to me like you could salvage the usability of this trailer easier and cheaper than exchanging it. As for getting the scrap yard to pay ......... you're lucky to get it back at no charge.
I am not an expert, but the hitch and chassis look to be in pretty good shape, just the pickup bed that is a little scratched. It probably won't buff out, but a "new" bed and you are back on the road.
Â
Hitch locks are a great idea for unattended trailers. I also use a lock on the safety chains when I leave my trailer unattended. A few years ago I had stopped at a Home Dept with my trailer, but just needed to pick up one quick thing. When I came out of the store, two guys were trying to undo my trailer hitch. Their lookout spotted me and they took off in their truck...with an attached towing ball..
They want that back?
They take new stuff all the time for scrap. One persons garbage is anothers treasure. Truck bed trailers are garbage. Protect your investment. Get a lock! make a police report, get the trailer back, but you will never prove the scrap yard did the damage. Maybe you should just scrap it and take the cash and start over. Cut your losses, you didnt have it locked up
Well, then they should have his I.D.
@MFMFIM Photo ID? That would make a hardship on some people according to the liberals. Photo ID to sell scrap metal but none needed to vote. Hmmmm......
 @MFMFIM I agree. I thought they were supposed to collect IDs for scrappers similar to pawn brokers.
Â
One comment about the article that struck me funny, though, was this:
Â
"We don't talk about what's between us and our customers," said a man you works at the scrap yard.
Ok, man "you" works at the scrap yard, who are you considering the customer? The original person who brought it in or the people who claim to be the original owners who had it stolen?Â
Â
The reason I ask is that once I had an x-ray for a broken leg get processed and stopped by my insurance company (actually when I was in college & it was on my parents account) but they refused to pay. Good thing, too. I didn't have a broken leg. When I called the doctor's office to inquire about it, they told me they couldn't talk to me about it (before any HIPPA rules went into effect, by the way) because I wasn't the patient in question. What the fig?!? Well, now, how do you go about getting something like THAT resolved? I see the same circular argument that can be made here with these employees... At least I was able to tell the insurance company to absolutely NOT pay and I was out of the equation.
 @CTWU I'm with you... while confidentiality is nice and all, that comes off as more than a bit shady.