Surveillance video shows a white Ford Super Duty Truck with a trailer make off with the 2018 CAT 304E2 Excavator. Detectives say a black Ford Freestyle was involved in the theft as well.
"Crazy," said Filipe Tu'ivai, part owner of Forest Contracting. He showed up at the site Monday morning and expected to use the excavator to do some sewer work on the property.
"And there’s nothing here. I can’t dig without my excavator. So, it’s crazy," he said.
Tu'ivai told KOMO News that he called the company he rented the excavator from to see if they picked it up without telling him.
The excavator was brand new. It was delivered to the construction site from a Tukwila rental company on Friday.
"Thought I was crazy because it was there one day and gone later," said Shaw Smith, who lives nearby. "I probably saw him and just didn’t even notice… And that’s scary."
The theft impacted Tu'ivai’s work.
But a new rental excavator delivered to the construction site Tuesday has put him back on track.
"Just like everything else, scheduling is kind of hectic right now. And we did have to push back a day or two," Tu'ivai said.
It’s the first time he’s ever had anything stolen from a work site, he said.
He hopes it’ll be the last.
"Whoever’s doing this… we would appreciate that we can finish this on a good end," he said.
The excavator that was stolen from the construction site is worth about $70,000, investigators told KOMO News.
If you recognize the vehicles or have any information on the thefts, you're asked to call the Puget Sound Auto Theft Task Force.
