Authorities are searching for two men who allegedly broke into a locked U.S. Last week, personnel stationed in the Inland Empire were robbed of their equipment by a Forest Service fire engine.
The crew, which was standing by for deployments in the midst of one of the many Santa Ana wind events that has impacted Southern California in recent weeks, were staying in the 9500 block of Milliken Avenue near Fourth Street when the theft happened, according to the USFS.
A crew assigned to San Bernardino National Forest Engine No. 336 had positioned the truck behind a Hilton Inn Express & Suites for deployment if necessary, for any wildfire that may have ignited in the federal preserve which encompasses both Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, according to the statement.
Authorities said that while the staff was away, two males in a red two-door Jeep Wrangler arrived into the parking area at around three in the morning. They then “forcibly opened three locked compartments of the engine and took a pair of bolt cutters from one of the compartments.”
They then took off in the Jeep, which had a license plate that began with the four digits “6.”
The entire ordeal was captured via the hotel’s security surveillance camera, which was released on Tuesday as detectives continue to search for the men.
They say that the first suspect is a man who was between 5-foot-7 and 6-feet tall with a “large build and a thin mustache.”He was wearing a black knit hat, a red jacket with a yellow trim on the shoulders and sides and blue pants.
The second suspect is a man who is between five feet seven and five feet ten, with a “husky build.” He was dressed in loose pants, a blue long-sleeve shirt, and a blue baseball camp with a white logo.
Investigators are asking anyone with additional information to call them at (909) 659-5755.