Man in Stolen Backhoe Tries to (Slowly) Elude Ore. Deputies

Nov. 23, 2021

Clackamas County sheriff's deputies searched for the purloined backhoe for around an hour before spotting it traveling on the wrong side of the road at speeds between 10 mph and 20 mph.

By Maddie Capron

Source The Charlotte Observer

Clackamas County, OR, sheriff's deputies pull over a driver who stole a backhoe from a lot in Beaverton and then eluded authorities for about an hour Sunday.

A man drove a stolen backhoe nearly 30 miles while dodging police for an hour, Oregon officials said.

An Oregon State Police trooper spotted a backhoe turn the wrong way down a highway on-ramp shortly after midnight on Sunday, Nov. 21, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said.

“By the time the trooper looped back around, the backhoe had disappeared,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release. “Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office Patrol deputies began searching for the backhoe.”

For about an hour, the driver in the backhoe slowly evaded police. Deputies spotted the backhoe again shortly after 1 a.m., the sheriff’s office said.

“The backhoe was straddling the double yellow line at times, driving on the wrong side of the road, at speeds estimated at 10-20 mph,” officials said.

The driver, a 39-year-old from Aloha, initially told deputies he was “lost” before admitting he stole the backhoe from a lot in Beaverton, the sheriff’s office said.

He was arrested on charges of unauthorized use of a vehicle and driving while suspended because his license had been felony revoked.

Beaverton is about 8 miles west of Portland.

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