An excavator disappeared from a construction site in Pierce County, Washington. Six days later, its owner reportedly found it somewhere considerably more public: Facebook Marketplace.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office said the machine was reported stolen Sept. 19 from a construction site off Mountain Highway East. On Sept. 25, the owner found what appeared to be the same excavator listed for sale online and contacted deputies.
Deputies verified the location and arrived while the seller was trying to make a deal, according to the sheriff’s office. The excavator was confirmed as the stolen machine and returned to its owner.
The location apparently did not make the sale particularly difficult to unravel. KIRO 7 reported that listing photos showed blue garage doors at a storage facility across the street from one of Tucci and Sons’ facilities in Parkland. The company recognized the surroundings — and its missing equipment.
Prosecutors later charged 23-year-old Victor Kurkov with possession of a stolen vehicle and trafficking in stolen property, KIRO reported. He is accused of listing the excavator under a false name.
The Listing
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Body-camera footage published by the sheriff’s office shows deputies arriving as several people were gathered around the equipment.
In footage aired by FOX 13 Seattle, deputies begin detaining the group and ask who they were buying the excavator from. The prospective buyers tell deputies they had found it on Facebook.
Deputy Carly Cappetto told FOX 13 that damage to the excavator helped an employee recognize it. The company logos had also been spray-painted, she said, and someone had attempted to remove an identifying number from the machine.
That effort did not finish the job.
Cappetto said identifying numbers remained on the excavator’s bucket, allowing deputies to match the equipment. The Marketplace photographs also reportedly placed the machine across the street from the company it had been taken from.
KIRO reported that the excavator had been advertised for $24,000. Multiple prospective buyers were at the storage facility when deputies arrived.
Another Machine
The sheriff’s office said after the arrest that the 23-year-old was being investigated in other cases involving stolen property and heavy equipment.
FOX 13, citing court documents it reviewed, reported that Kurkov had recently been arrested in Sumner in connection with an attempt to sell a stolen Peterbilt semi-truck. The outlet also reported that three other stolen vehicles were recovered from his property.
That allegation is separate from the excavator case, and the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office did not detail the other investigations in its Sept. 28 release.
Kurkov was booked into the Pierce County Jail after the excavator recovery. KIRO and FOX 13 both reported that his bail was set at $10,000 and that he was subsequently released from custody.