A vehicle used to educate the public about the dangers of substance abuse has been stolen.
The Palm Beach County Substance Awareness Coalition said its new community outreach trailer was taken from the parking lot of the Children's Services Council at 2300 High Ridge Rd. on Thanksgiving.
The crime happened just five days after the Substance Awareness Coalition received the trailer.
Surveillance video obtained by WPTV shows a red pick-up truck driving away with the large white trailer.
The Executive Director of the Coalition, Jeff Kadel, said the theft happened around 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
"Came back Monday and we were discussing how we were going to wrap it like our current vehicle, went down to take a some measurements and noticed it was gone," said Kadel.
He said from the surveillance video they could not tell how the person broke the locks placed on the hitch of the trailer.
Kadel said the new "Coalition on Wheels", also known in communities as the COW, was going to replace the current one which right now can only store tables and chairs for events.
"Not only did it have a step and door where you can go inside, it had the ability to set up tables and computers and so forth with its own electrical source," said Kadel
The trailer was 7-by-14 feet long and had a brand new generator.
"What it does is allows us to go into the community and interact with parents and teens on a one to one level," said Kadel.
The Substance Awareness Coalition had a free HIV testing event scheduled for the COW this weekend in Greenacres.
"So what they did was they stole a vehicle from a non profit agency trying to do some good work that's barely scraping money together and then they stole it on Thanksgiving day just to add injury to insult," added Kadel.
Source: Palm Beach County Substance Awareness Coalition
The COW was purchased through a local and federal dollars, and had not even been wrapped yet with the organization's logo and design. It's worth about $13,000.
This is a busy time of year for the Coalition, which had planned to use the trailer for community outreach events at schools, parades, and other gatherings. The Coalition has started a GoFundMe page to raise funds to replace the stolen trailer.
The driver of this red F150 stole this white trailer out of the Palm Beach County Substance Awareness Coalition parking lot. The Coalition on Wheels was supposed to be at its first HIV testing event this wknd. Help police find the trailer and the thief who stole it! @WPTV pic.twitter.com/lPPZxIO97T
— Michelle Quesada (@M_Quesada) December 10, 2018
On Thanksgiving Day this red F150 sped out of the Children Services Council parking lot off Gateway Blvd near 95 with the PBC Substance Awareness Coalition’s brand new trailer. The coalition had just bought the trailer 5 days before it was stolen. Wasn’t even wrapped yet. @WPTVpic.twitter.com/m5eMfegFot
— Michelle Quesada (@M_Quesada) December 10, 2018
The Boynton Beach Police Department is investigating the crime. If you know who took the trailer, call police.
