INVERNESS, Fla. — A business in Citrus County is asking for the public’s help to find a piece of equipment that they say was stolen.
- Southern Tree & Excavation noticed on Friday front-end loader, trailer missing
- Padlock cut, front gate forced open
- Business unable to work without equipment
- More Citrus County stories
The owners of Southern Tree & Excavation noticed something was wrong when they got to their equipment yard Friday morning.
"The padlock was cut, the gate was kind of forced open and the machine was gone," Bryce Perry said.
That's when Perry said they realized their front-end loader and equipment trailer were stolen.
"It's really a low blow, you know," Perry explained. "I mean we worked so hard, we've been doing this for two years, we started from nothing and then to have that taken away from us it really just is horrible."
A tag on their other trailer was also taken.
Perry, a Coast Guard reservist, said he started this business with a friend after returning from serving overseas using money he’s saved over the years.
The owners say the stolen equipment is vital to their business. Without it, they're not able to work.
"It's the machine we use to load our trailer everyday," said Robert Albert. "It's pretty much the backbone of the company."
Now they're asking for the public's help to find their equipment, a Facebook post created on Friday already receiving hundreds of shares.
"The only thing we can hope for is, you know, we had some money set aside for a new piece of equipment for something different and we'll just have to use that to replace the front-end loader so we can keep doing what we're doing,” Perry explained.
Perry said they’re also offering a $3,000 reward for anyone who is able to return their equipment. They’ve also opened a case with the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office.