Case of The Missing Equipment

The title is a little deceiving. We did find all the equipment, it's where we would find it that was really puzzling.


A few months after going to work for Sam Minnielli in 1987, we started a subdivision for Mike West on Old Colerain Road. It was my first subdivision and it was in a location I was very familiar with. Growing up in Ross we traveled Colerain Road through Dunlap a lot as a kid. During my high school years this section of Colerain was by-passed with a new road thus the name Old Colerain as it became known. It was brought to my attention that this was not the correct name, I'll explain that later.

I found that site projects and subdivisions were a lot alike except subdivisions usually are long and narrow running between right of ways where site packages will control large amounts of acreage. In subdivisions you do not disturb any more than you have to.

We started an off site water line the same day we started the clearing and the dirt. About four days into project I get a call on the radio from Lonnie Creech asking if we moved his equipment. The mechanic who fueled up all the equipment told him he found his completely out of fuel to the right of the entry. Since that area was wooded I didn't think too much of it except for the question “who moved Lonnie's equipment?”

That was incident number one, incident number two happened a couple of days later. Usually, Sam would be in before me and get the crews out to the job sites with men and tools they needed for the day. This particular Monday morning, he wasn't in. I got everybody out the door and was in my office when he came through the door.

Some one had hit our equipment at Mike West subdivision. Mike had called Sam around four in the morning telling him a Deputy Sheriff had called him to say our equipment at the site was running.

When he got there a brand new D-4 dozer was stuck on a tree. This tree was one that was to remain, not good. Some one had started a 225 track hoe and tried to tip over a scraper. This damaged a hydraulic cylinder. All toll about ten thousand dollars in damage plus a five foot diameter oak tree.

The first police report was filed with the Hamilton County Sheriffs Department. Assumptions were made about who was responsible. One, they knew their way around equipment. Two, they may have a grudge against the contractor or the realtor. Three, they wanted to be destructive.

We also had several questions, the first being how did they get the D-4 on top of the tree trunk? The second was why us? The third was who did this?

The rest of the week Hamilton County stepped up patrols after hours. We got lulled into thinking the worst was over when it was just beginning.

Mike West started his first house, the foundation was in and part of the first floor framing. The roadway took shape, and the on-site utilities were going in. The sun was shinning and all seemed to be going well. Then it happened.

On Saturday morning Lonnie called on the radio asking for his backhoe. Sam told him that it wasn't moved, to go look for it. He called back a few minutes later, he found it. It was nose down in the basement. Oh yea, they knocked down the house that was started a few days ago.

Ever try to pick up a twenty thousand pound machine that usually sits horizontally now sitting vertically on the bottom of the basement. We knew we would have engine problems because it was running when it went over the foundation wall. Now it was obvious that someone had a vendetta against us.

The thought crossed our mind that some one was getting even for something we may or may not have done. The person doing this knew us. Who could it be?

Next time I will conclude this.