SEQUIM — A John Deere backhoe that disappeared 11 days ago from Sequim Bay State Park has been recovered by Clallam County Sheriff’s deputies, Undersheriff Ron Peregrin said late Wednesday afternoon.
The backhoe, worth about $47,000 according to state park manager Steve Gilstrom, is another in a series of at least six construction-gear thefts in the Sequim area in recent weeks.
“I am absolutely overjoyed,” Gilstrom said after the backhoe was wheeled back into the park on a trailer. “There is no way we could have replaced it.”
The state is self-insured, so it can’t file a claim with an insurance company, he added, “so when it’s gone, it’s gone.”
Gilstrom said that the 2-year-old backhoe was returned in great shape, after being hidden in bushes off Old Gardiner Road.
Last week, Clallam Sheriff’s deputies and the Sequim Police recovered other tools stolen from Parry Construction Co. of Sequim, as well as lumber that had vanished from Sequim Bay State Park earlier this month.
Eluded authorities
Then on Friday night, while serving a search warrant at a home on North Barr Road, they arrested occupant Chris Ahlstadt, 48, in connection with the thefts.
The officers also discovered a marijuana-growing operation and a small amount of methamphetamine.
They handcuffed Alhstadt, questioned him and put him in a sheriff’s patrol car, but the 6-foot-4-inch man kicked out a side window and escaped into the neighborhood at about 5 p.m.
A Coast Guard helicopter, a tracking dog, sheriff’s deputies and Sequim police officers were unable to catch up with the fugitive.
Clallam deputies and the Sequim Police are following up on multiple leads as they pursue Ahlstadt, Peregrin said.
“We’re getting tips; the public is being very helpful,” he added.
Peregrin said it’s not clear if Ahlstadt was the backhoe thief.
He emphasized that, as his detectives continue their search for the perpetrator or perpetrators, they also are hunting for other equipment stolen from Sequim- area construction sites.
At least six theft or burglary cases have been identified where stolen property has been recovered, he said.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge Brooke Taylor has issued a nationwide warrant for Ahlstadt’s arrest.
Ahlstadt is wanted for investigation of first-degree malicious mischief, third-degree theft, possession of methamphetamine, first-degree possession of stolen property, trafficking in stolen property, manufacturing of marijuana and third-degree escape.
Ahlstadt is 6-feet-4-inches tall, weighs 240 pounds and has brown hair and green eyes.
Anyone with information about stolen property is urged to phone the Sequim Police Department at 360-683-7227.
Ahlstadt is considered dangerous, so anyone who sees him should call 9-1-1.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladaily news.com.