CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A barbeque smoker used by a local Boy Scout Troop to fundraise was stolen last week in Chesterfield.
The smoker Boy Scout Troop 840 of Chesterfield County used to cook and sell barbeque was taken and now, the troop is trying its best to overcome the obstacle.
“We called the Chesterfield County Police, filed a police report and a police officer told us that, yes, it definitely looked like it was stolen and that we were unlikely to retrieve it,” said Dave Sanders, an assistant scoutmaster for the troop.
Sanders said he noticed the smoker was missing last Friday, when he went to pull out their other trailer. The Chesterfield County Police Department believes it was taken some time within the last two weeks.
“We’re trying to use it as a teachable moment,” said Sanders. “We don’t know why the thief took it, we don’t think the thief should have taken it. However, it’s gone and we’ve tried to move forward.”
It’s a devastating loss for the troop, with the future funds they would have raised with the smoker now in jeopardy.
“The scouts were really distraught about it, because they know that it helps cut the cost of scouting in funds and helps them,” said Sanders. “They were really disappointed about everything.”
In the aftermath, the community has been rallying around the troop by giving them donations to help them get back on track.
“We’ve had people reach out to us to loan us cookers and, you know, donate small cookers. We’ve raised about 10% of the value of the grill. It’s gonna take us a while we realized, for a couple of years to replace it,” said Sanders. “We’ve even had the ‘Cool Smoke’ team volunteer their cooker and their expertise to help us for the fundraising until we can afford to buy our new one.”
Anyone with information related to the theft of the smoker is asked to call Chesterfield Police at 804-748-1251.
