Backhoe stolen from Bend-area construction site found in Wash. state, possibly driven there, slowly — all 250 miles

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A backhoe stolen from a construction site near Bend was found by authorities two days later and 250 miles to the north, near Mattawa, Washington. And its GPS tracker showed it made the journey at about 25 mph – meaning it may have been driven on the road for that whole 10-hour trip.

A Grant County, Washington sheriff’s deputy working the county’s south end last Sunday noticed the 2020 John Deere 410L on a property along State Route 243 South, the sheriff’s office said in a Thursday social media post.

The deputy questioned the property owner about the backhoe, “which was visibly out of place compared to other materials and vehicles on the property,” deputies said.

The $160,000, 30,000-pound backhoe also had two broken windows.

The deputy investigated and learned the backhoe was stolen two days earlier, on Friday, Feb. 9 from the Bend-area construction site.

Deputies said the backhoe’s owner reviewed GPS pings from the equipment, which determined the 25 mph speed – about the top speed for the backhoe.

The property owner where the backhoe was found doesn’t have access to anything that would tow such a heavy, large vehicle, so “one of the few conclusions is that it was driven on roadways for the entire 250-mile trip,” the Facebook post said. “The math makes that 10 hours of travel.”

“The property owner did not provide any verifiable explanation as to how the backhoe got there,” the sheriff’s office said.

The legal owner of the construction equipment picked it up to return it to Bend, while deputies continue to investigate the theft.

“It was a bizarre twist,” sheriff’s office Public Information Officer Kyle Foreman said Friday.

“Like any other place, we have stolen vehicles all over the place,” Foreman said, adding that beyond the broken windows, the backhoe “seems to be intact.”

The owner of the property where it was found is “pretty well known to us,” he said, and is “known in the area for having a lot of garbage and derelict vehicles” on his property.

The backhoe owner’s logo was still on it, Foreman said -- and when contacted, he doesn’t believe the company knew it had been stolen.

Foreman said the property owner where it was found will be facing charges: “It’s a crime,” he said, but “he’s not going anywhere.”

Wouldn’t such a slow-moving vehicle on that long a trip be … noticed?

“You’d think so,” Foreman said. “We’re in a more forested area, while I understand you're in more of a desert. It’s not uncommon for farm machinery or heavy machinery to be on the roadways.”