STOLEN!

I'm in shock. My husbands' truck was stolen during the night! First off, to understand we live in a small community and we live in the country about 4 miles outside of town. We live off the road on a long, winding driveway and you can't even see our house from the road! You almost have to know it's there to find it. Then, we don't have any security light to "spotlight" our house, either.

We have always lived in a community where you never had to lock your doors, and it was acceptable to leave your keys in your vehicles because no one would ever think to take it!

My husband has been driving his work truck - a 3/4 ton pickup with a topper that he's got fixed up for a repair vehicle when he's in the field. He had the back end full of tools, a portable welder, an air pressure tank, a fuel tank, parts, etc. Anything and everything you can think of for what you would need for quick repairs when you are farming and you break something or need to fuel up a tractor. He came out to go to work this morning - and it was GONE!

He's upset - not only at the loss, but at the situation. If my parents weren't staying here, and if he hadn't given up his parking spot in the garage to them, his truck never would have been out there to be taken. Also, it's almost time to be getting in the field and the insurance company says we have to wait at least a week to see if it turns up (hubby figures it's all beat to hell now, anyway, if it hasn't all been parted out). The sheriff came out and made a report and they have a suspect. Someone from an neighboring town that just got out of jail, proceeded to steal an SUV in that town, and it was found out of gas a mile from our place. They think the guy may have just been cutting across the fields to get back to town when he spotted our truck and took advantage of the situation - probably not even realizing until the next morning what he had in the back end, as it is an older truck and doesn't look the fanciest from the outside.

What's worse is my mother heard it drive off last night between 12 and 1, but didn't think to tell anyone!

This just makes us so mad. We've not had to deal with this EVER and it's really ticking me off that now I feel so unsecure - we're going to start locking up everything and taking out the keys... another bit of innocence lost.