16-foot trailer stolen from Murfreesboro church’s parking lot

A group that does mission work in Rutherford County and in three states had a setback this week.

Someone stole their trailer filled with construction equipment right out of the parking lot of First Methodist Church of Murfreesboro, but mission leaders said this will not prevent them from continuing to help the less fortunate.

“A lot of it is on our second Saturday project day,” Mission director Josh Markham told News 2. “Every second Saturday of the month we go out in the community and do projects like wheelchair ramps, home repair, and porch repair.”

So imagine the surprise when Markham noticed something missing from the back parking lot.

He thought someone from the mission team had borrowed it, but that wasn’t the case.“I first noticed our trailer was not there cause it’s obvious when it’s not because it takes up such a big space,” Markham said. “Our trailer is a 16-foot trailer; its black.”

“I looked and saw the wheel on the ground and knew it had been stolen,” Markham said.

The trailer was filled with tools, hammers, saws, a generator, and other equipment.

“Had a lot of stuff in it that we could do projects with like framing walls and floors, and wheelchair ramps, even gardening and tree work as well,” Markham told News 2.

The church took all the necessary precautions, but that didn’t stop the thief.

“The trailer was locked, booted, and in a well lite parking lot,” Markham said.

The suspect(s) even cut the lock to the Cub Scout trailer, but nothing appeared to be missing inside.The thief took the time to remove the booted wheel and replace it with the wheel off a Cub Scout trailer that was parked next to it.

Most of the mission projects are local, but twice a year, in the summer and winter, a church group goes to Oklahoma, Georgia, or Arkansas to help low-income people and the elderly.

Marvin Potter’s wife Betty is suffers from spinal stenosis, and he had a tough time pushing her wheelchair into the house.

“We were borrowing a piece of plywood to get her in the house,” Potter said.

First Methodist’s mission team came to the rescue and built a ramp, free of charge.

Markham said the person who did this obviously didn’t realize the impact the trailer made in other people’s lives.“We are so blessed that they did such a good job,” Potter said. “It makes it so much easier and much safer for both of us to get her in and out of the house.”

“If this person would have contacted me with a need, I probably could have helped them,” he said.

The group’s next mission project is Feb. 11. They will be building walls and floors for a module home.

St. Mark United Methodist Church has agreed to let the group to use its tools and equipment for that mission project.

Murfreesboro police are investigating.

Courtesy of WKRN Nashville’s News 2