Editor, Manteca Bulletin,

While enjoying a good cup of mourning coffee at Gary’s Auto Body a week or so ago, Gary told us of an experience he had while he and four or his crew were en route to retrieve trailers used for offices at the command centers by U.S. Forest Service while fighting wildfires. Here it is as he told it to me:

On Friday , Aug. 8, Gary’s Auto Body left Red Bluff with five trucks on their way to Yosemite to bring back a fire support unit. We stopped in Manteca and stayed the night at Motel 6. 

“Sometime in the early morning hours of the ninth, four of the five trucks were broken into and hand tools, a small Lincoln welder and a variety of towing recovery equipment that is critical in retrieving wrecked vehicles that often end up down the side of a mountain, out in the rock or stuck in a mud bog. 

“The Manteca Police were called and said they would be there in about 45 minutes. Officer Espinoza arrived within 30 minutes and took a detailed list of items stolen. Officer Espinoza said they would contact all the recyclers and ask them to be on the lookout for the stolen items and they would check the security cameras at the motel. 

“On the morning of Aug. 12, I was contacted by Sergeant Sexson of the Manteca Police informing me they had recovered some of the stolen items. Needless to say, I wasted no time heading back to Manteca to retrieve the stolen property that consisted mostly of the specialty equipment for retrieving wrecked vehicles. 

“Total value of the recovered items, about a $1,000 with the assurance that there was a good chance of recovering most if not all of the remaining items.”

A shout out to the Manteca Police Department for their dedication and help to someone who was just passing through. 

Les Wolfe

Red Bluff