Vandals tampered with heavy equipment creating havoc at the Cross River gravel pit on the Gunflint Trail sometime during the night of Thursday, July 9. A front-end loader belonging to Edwin E. Thoreson, Inc. was used to tip over a 40,000-pound tag trailer belonging to Dave Tuttle.
Tuttle discovered the overturned trailer, which is used to haul heavy equipment, when he arrived at the gravel pit to begin his working day on Friday, July 9. “It was completely flipped over,” said Tuttle in a phone interview. “The wheels were up in the air.”
Tuttle was able to get the $18,000 trailer back up with the help of Dale Smith of Edwin E. Thoreson, Inc. They attached chains and “carefully” hoisted it back over.
Tuttle said there was about $1,000 worth of damage to the trailer. The Thoreson’s loader was not damaged. “It could have been a lot worse,” said Tuttle.
The perpetrator is apparently someone with heavy equipment operating experience, since he or she knew how to start the frontend loader, maneuver it to tip the trailer, and get it shut off. “Judging from the tracks, it was someone who knew what they were doing,” said Tuttle.
Tuttle added that the main concern is that contractors no longer feel comfortable leaving their equipment in gravel pits. Contractors commonly leave equipment in pits where they are working. There have been occasional reports of broken windows or minor vandalism. “Last year we spent several hours cleaning up after someone hit our equipment with paint ball guns,” said Tuttle
Tuttle said he now has to add an hour or so to his working day to move equipment to a safe location, because of this “random act of vandalism.”
Anyone with information on the vandalism is encouraged to contact Cook County Law Enforcement at (218) 387-3030.
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