HOUSTON – A bunch of younger athletes from Illinois traveled to Houston to compete within the AAU Junior Olympics, bringing dwelling two nationwide championships and several other medals — solely to have their coach’s truck and greater than $50,000 price of kit stolen earlier than they might return dwelling.
Main truck theft in Humble
The theft occurred over the weekend outdoors a lodge on the 4800 block of Canyon Lakes Hint, simply off Beltway 8 in Humble. Surveillance footage exhibits two males leaping a fence, disabling the alarm, and stealing a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado Excessive Nation belonging to the spouse of coach Mike Cockerham, founding father of the Flying Dragons Pole Vault Membership.
“They broke into the pc of the truck, discovered the important thing fob code, unlocked it, began it, and had been gone — all in three minutes,” Cockerham mentioned to FOX 26.
Behind the truck had been pole-vaulting poles valued at roughly $46,000, not together with the specialised carrying baggage, Cockerham mentioned.
Whereas the athletes celebrated their victories, together with two nationwide titles, the theft forged a shadow over the journey.
“It’s going to be actually troublesome,” Cockerham mentioned. “We labored laborious to get that tools.”
The Chevrolet Silverado is among the many most continuously stolen autos within the U.S., ranked fourth on the Nationwide Insurance coverage Crime Bureau’s checklist of most stolen autos in 2023.
The search continues
Authorities with the Harris County Sheriff’s Workplace are investigating the theft. Anybody with data is urged to contact HCSO.
The Supply: FOX 26 spoke with the Flying Dragons Pole Vault Membership Founder, and gathered data from the Harris County Sheriff’s Workplace.