Snowblower stolen from the American Legion in South Lake Tahoe
Submitted by paula on Tue, 10/31/2023 - 5:10pm
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Unfortunately, no one is immune to thievery and property damage, even the veterans of South Lake Tahoe. An Ariens snowblower was stolen from the American Legion Post 795 in South Lake Tahoe, and they'd like to have it back. The red-orange snowblower was purchased by the Legion five years and it was still in great shape.
Commander Tom Millham said the snowblower was locked in the Legion's storage shed on site. Millham said the Legion learned the hard way that they aren't immune to thieves.
"For an organization whose members served our country in preserving the right to be free, have to be realistic that even veterans are not able to avoid having people come onto our property and steal items which belong to us," said Millham.
Between Thursday night at 8 p.m. and Friday morning at 11:30 a.m., someone broke into the storage locker located directly behind the American Legion building and stole several items, one of which was a fairly new (2018) Ariens Deluxe 28 snowblower, which members use to keep the walkways and entryways clear of snow during wintertime conditions.
"We have no idea WHY these people (or this person) feel they can come onto our property and break open a ‘locked’ storage locker and just take whatever they want," said Millham. "We are very sad this happened and are asking the South Lake Tahoe community to keep their eyes open for this piece of equipment which is vital for us with winter looming right around the corner."
The South Lake Tahoe Police Department took a report on the theft and Legion members hope that whoever took the snowblower will reconsider and return it to them as soon as possible.
"Should this not take place, then we will be forced to purchase another snowblower which, as everyone knows, is not cheap," added Millham. "Being a member organization and not having an excess of funds, especially after just paying for a new, required roof for our building, the money is just not there."
If anyone has any information leading to the finding of the snowblower, please either call the South Lake Tahoe Police Department at 530-542-6110 or call the American Legion at 530-541-8788.