Indianola gas thieves drill into fuel tanks

Published 2:20 pm Thursday, October 17, 2013

INDIANOLA — Gas thieves brought an Indianola family to a halt last week, leading to a costly visit to the repair shop both family cars.

An Indianola mother received a call from her son shortly after he left home on the evening of Oct. 9. His car had broken down. The son’s car was towed to a nearby repair shop.

The mother, however, came into some trouble of her own when she went to pick up her son. Her car broke down as well and appeared to be out of gas. It came as a shock to the woman as she had believed the tank was full.

After a short tow to a gas station, the last piece of the mystery became evident as the mother began filling up her gas tank. As she filled the tank at one end, gas began pouring onto the ground at the other. Upon further inspection, parts of the tank had four holes, about one inch in diameter, drilled into them.

“They slashed the fuel necks that go from where you put in the gas to the tanks,” the mother said.

Mechanics at the repair shop confirmed that the same incident has occurred with the son’s vehicle.

“It’s vandalism and theft,” the mother said. “We lost both our cars for a week.”

It cost approximately $600 to repair the damage.

It is not certain how much gas was stolen, according to a Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office report on the incident.