2 alleged thieves sought for stealing firefighting gear from U.S. Forest Service crews
Authorities are searching for two men who allegedly broke into a locked U.S. Forest Service fire engine and stole equipment from crews who were stationed in the Inland Empire last week.
The crew, which was standing by for deployments in the midst of one of the many Santa Ana wind events that has impacted Southern California in recent weeks, were staying in the 9500 block of Milliken Avenue near Fourth Street when the theft happened, according to the USFS.
A crew assigned to San Bernardino National Forest Engine No. 336 had positioned the truck behind a Hilton Inn Express & Suites for deployment if necessary, for any wildfire that may have ignited in the federal preserve which encompasses both Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, according to the statement.
At around 3 a.m., authorities say that two men in a two-door red Jeep Wrangler pulled up into the parking lot while the crew was away, at which point they "forcibly opened three locked compartments of the engine and took a pair of bolt cutters from one of the compartments."
Afterwards, they fled the area in the Jeep, which had a license plate that starts with the number "6."
The entire ordeal was captured via the hotel's security surveillance camera, which was released on Tuesday as detectives continue to search for the men.
They say that the first suspect is a man who was between 5-foot-7 and 6-feet tall with a "large build and a thin mustache."
He was wearing a black knit hat, a red jacket with a yellow trim on the shoulders and sides and blue pants.
The second suspect is a man about 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-10 with a "husky build." He was wearing a blue baseball camp with a white logo, a blue long sleeve shirt and baggy jeans.
Anyone who knows more is urged to contact investigators at (909) 659-5755.