ABILENE -- An undercover operation by Dickinson County Sheriff's investigators helped authorities recover several power tools that were stolen earlier in the month.
Dickinson County Sheriff Gareth Hoffman reported today that on April 9, the sheriff's office responded to the burglary of a U-Haul truck in the 2200 block of Rain Road. Multiple power tools had been stolen from the truck.
On Monday, one of the stolen power tools was spotted for sale on the Junction City Facebook Marketplace. Dickinson County Sheriff's investigators, with the help of the Geary County Sheriff's Office, set up an undercover operation to buy the stolen tool, Hoffman explained in a news release issued today.
Investigators were able to recover the tool, which led to a residence in Junction City, where several of the other stolen tools were located. Hoffman noted that many of the stolen items were collected and will be returned to the owner.
Dickinson County investigators are still working the case and anticipate requesting burglary and theft charges, according to the release.
"The Dickinson County Sheriff's Office would like to remind the public to be mindful of purchases and transactions made on Facebook and other buy/sell/trade sites," Hoffman noted in the release.