UPDATE: After WAVY’s story aired, the stolen trailer was located, but was empty. According to Janee, someone who saw the news segment spotted the trailer and reported it to the police. The trailer was returned to its owners.
Original Coverage:
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (WAVY) — Someone swiped a trailer over the weekend and with it, a Virginia Beach family’s livelihood.
The trailer, packed with working materials, was stolen from a house on King’s Arm Drive in the Princess Anne Plaza neighborhood around 1:45 a.m. Saturday.
“I’m stuck figuring out how I’m going to make money,” said Mike Finch, owner of Mike’s Quality Painting, “and basically in my head, I’m like starting all over from the day I started my business.”
The 8×10 trailer was packed with carpentry tools, painting supplies and scaffolding.
“I mean, it’s thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars worth of stuff,” Finch said.
Finch has been building his business for 16 years. His wife, Janee, reached out to 10 On Your Side.
“He’s the breadwinner,” she said. “I’m just a Virginia Beach public city school bus driver. I mean, we’ve got children at home to take care of. We can’t do jobs without our trailer that holds the key to our business.”
A neighbor’s camera caught still images that show the trailer disappear around 1:45 a.m. Saturday. Another neighbor, Christeen, saw it happen.
“I was up in this bedroom it was about 1:30 that night,” the neighbor said.
She told 10 On Your Side she saw a dark gray or blue F-150 truck park outside.
“They sat there a few minutes then they left, and then maybe 15 minutes later 20 minutes later they had backed into the driveway,” the neighbor said, “and it was a White gentleman, kind of heavyset, that got out to attach the truck to the trailer.”
No easy task, according to the Finches, since the trailer had a tongue lock.
“They had to cut it off because it’s a metal lock,” Mike Finch said. “And you can’t just come up with any kind of pliers. You have to use a saw to cut it.”
The trailer says TrailersPlus.com on the back and has or had a license plate reading 927-332-TL.
The Finches are hoping someone can help them get it back so they can get back to making a living.
If you know anything that can help get their trailer back call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP or use the P-3 Tips app to send an anonymous tip.