BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
PILGRIM — Martin County Sheriff John Kirk recovered multiple stolen vehicles and other property Thursday along Rocky Branch/South Wolf Creek Road in Pilgrim after a couple reported the items missing in West Virginia.
Recovered property included a Sunnybrook Sunset Creek travel trailer, a GMC Sierra 2500HD pickup truck, a Chevrolet Silverado 1500, an Arctic Cat Prowler utility task vehicle and a flatbed trailer, Kirk said.
Kirk said a West Virginia resident contacted him earlier in the week regarding property that she and her husband reported stolen.
“She said a couple of individuals had taken some stuff that belonged to her and her husband,” he said.
According to Kirk, the woman provided information on two trucks, two side-by-sides, a trailer used to haul side-by-sides, a firearm and a camper.
“We’re getting conflicting stories on what actually happened,” Kirk said. “I think some of it was brought here under the pretense of being worked on, then they never fixed the vehicle and they never returned it, as best I can tell. But they were reported stolen.”
The West Virginia State Police entered the property into the National Crime Information Center database and contacted Kirk.
“I was able to recover everything except one side-by-side and a firearm that was supposed to have been in the vehicle,” Kirk said.
“The camper was set up and a couple was living in it.”
There had been no arrests as of Thursday evening, but the investigation remains active.
“We’re still trying to get all of the information from both sides,” Kirk said. “There could be a couple of arrests pending.”
Investigators are continuing efforts to locate the missing side-by-side.
“The newer side-by-side, we haven’t been able to recover,” Kirk said. “We do know a Martin County resident was on that side-by-side. I actually arrested a passenger on the side-by-side just a few weeks ago.”
According to Kirk, the owners of the recovered property were traveling Thursday evening to Martin County to retrieve the vehicles and trailer, according to Kirk.
“Hopefully we can find the other side-by-side,” he said. “Probably never going to find the firearm, but may be able to find the side-by-side.”