SPOKANE, Wash. — A West Central Spokane car dealership is offering a $1,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest of the suspects who stole one of their trucks. The truck was found in the Spokane River early Wednesday morning after a witness reported seeing headlights in the water then watched them sink.
Once no one was found in or near the truck, Spokane Police determined it was not the results of a crash and suspected the truck was stolen and put in the river on purpose.
A dive team found the vehicle submerged and a tow truck removed the vehicle from the river at 8 a.m.
The manager of Next Gen Auto on North Ash Street said a neighbor tipped him off that his store had been broken into. On his way to the store, Shane Lunceford's wife sent him a news article showing his truck being pulled from the Spokane River.
"I was like yeah that's my truck," Lunceford said.
He told KREM this is the first time they've had a vehicle stolen from their lot.
"We have a lot of people here in the neighborhood that do work for us and that we have relationships with that kind of watch over the place," he said. "And in the four years we've been here this is the first real break-in that we've had."
He said they reviewed surveillance video that showed suspects first taking wheels off a Subaru, leaving them next to the vehicle, and leaving the scene around 9 p.m. Tuesday. Then, the suspects came back and broke the glass door into the dealership around midnight Wednesday morning. The suspects went inside and stole the keys to the truck.
The manager said this will cost the dealership about $20,000. Now, the dealership is offering a $1,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest in the case.
Police are now reviewing the surveillance video in an effort to find the suspects. If you have any information on the incident, you're asked to call Crime Check at 509-456-2233
