By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

In the latest in a series of thefts, a pickup truck and trailer stolen Thursday from Hillsboro were found Friday with a Kobota utility terrain vehicle stolen earlier from Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks on the trailer.

One UTV was reported stolen and another damaged between 4 p.m. Sept. 25 and 11:45 a.m. Sept. 26 from where they were parked near 210th and Mustang Rds. at Marion Reservoir.

The UTVs had been left in an open area at French Creek Cove, Sheriff Jeff Soyez said.

The pickup and trailer, taken from a parking lot at Hillsboro’s Carquest, were last seen by an employee between 5:40 a.m. and 7 a.m. Thursday.

“The utility vehicle was on the trailer connected to the pickup when the pickup was found,” Hillsboro Police Chief Jesse Hiebert said.

The pickup had been driven off a county road into a ditch, damaging it, Hiebert said. It had to be brought back to Hillsboro on a trailer.

Soyez said both UTVs’ ignitions were punched out of their steering columns so the vehicles could be hotwired.

He surmises the thieves were interrupted before stealing the second UTV.

Soyez estimated the value of the stolen UTV at $19,000 and damage to the ignitions for both UTVs at $200.

The thefts may be related to other recent vehicle thefts in the county, Soyez said. Three vehicles and two UTV were stolen during the last three months. All have been recovered in nearby counties.

The thefts still are under investigation by both the sheriff’s office and Hillsboro police.