Owner: Kate Fulkerson
Telephone:
E-mail: DE-ACTIVATED
Reported Stolen: November 25, 2001
From: Durham, NC
Description: 

• Year 2000 EquiSpirit two-horse
• The VIN number is 1H9AT182XYM283155.
• Report number 01-36630.
• Walk-through
• Bumper-pull trailer with a Draw Tight hitch
• Dressing room 
• It is somewhat oversized, a few inches taller and a foot longer than average
• The color is silver with teal blue stripes and with a gravel guard.
• The spare tire is mounted outside the rear of the trailer. 

Stolen from Academy Road, Durham, on Sunday, November 25. 

Detective Tindale in the Durham Police Department is in charge of the investigation. 

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Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 15:20:58 -0800 [03/03/2007 05:20:58 PM CST]
From: S. Harmon
To: stolenhorse@netposse.com
Subject: Stolen Trailer on your site Report #01-36630

Hello,

My name is S. Harmon. I am writing you about a trailer you have listed on your site as an active theft that has been recovered. It is the Equispirit year 2000 Vin #1H9AT182XYM283155 Report #01-36630.

I found this trailer for sale by C & S Trailer in Fort Worth, Texas in September 2006. We settled on a price and when I asked about the keys, they told me they did not have them. I got the vin number off the title (it matched the one on the trailer tongue) and called Equispirit to see if I could get new keys from them. They informed me the vin I had was not theirs. When I described the trailer, they checked their list of stolen trailers and found one matching the description. C & S looked to see if the correct vin number had been also removed from the trailer frame underneath the trailer (the plate in the tack room was gone). Luckily, the true vin was still on the frame. It is indeed the trailer I listed above. The thieves had not found the vin on the frame, only the one in the tack room. The trailer had a bogus vin stamped on the tongue and a doctored title – all a very smoothly done job.

It has taken four months for the investigation and the insurance company to clear the title, but I legally purchased the trailer today from C & S. The story goes that a man traded in the trailer to C & S. He got the trailer from his brother who moved here from North Carolina. Neither of them knew the trailer was stolen. The brother purchased the trailer from a North Carolina Police Officer! Sad to say the least.

Anyway, I found out the trailer was listed on your site today when Tim at C & S showed me a copy of the webpage in the file on the trailer. USAA Insurance had paid off on the trailer shortly after it was stolen in 2001 so C & S purchased it from them to sell it to me. I now have a nice trailer, but I learned a lot about buying trailers from the experience. Had I not called Equispirit, I would have unknowingly bought a stolen trailer and who knows if I would have ever found out unless I called the manufacturer for parts or something. From now on, if I buy a used trailer, I am calling the manufacturer to check the vin and I'm checking sites like yours to see if it is listed. Just because you buy a trailer from a large reputable dealer doesn't mean it can't be a stolen trailer.

The original owner has been contacted by C & S and knows the trailer was recovered. I have also written her that I have the trailer now. I don't know what action you need to take the trailer off your site. I sure don't want to get in trouble if someone identifies it in my possession and thinks it is still hot.

Thanks for the wonderful service you provide. I had not been familiar with your site before this, but I'll check it regularly now to keep an eye out for stolen horses/trailers. I would die from worry if one of my beloved horses were stolen. I read [Debi’s] story and know you must have lived though hell. You made something really good come of it, though.

S Harmon

NOTE FROM NETPOSSE: It is not our policy to remove listings unless leaving the post online will cause parties involved undue stress, interfere with an ongoing investigation, or for other similar reasons. This trailer has been found, not recovered (by original owner), and all the appropriate people have been notified. S. Harmon is now the legal owner and will retain ownership. We will leave the listing posted so that others can know how these thefts evolve and that trailers can be recovered!



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