Authorities find stolen truck, possible illegal animal pelts in Westphalia home
A Westphalia man faces several charges related to stealing after the Osage County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant on Tuesday.
According to a release, the sheriff’s office worked with the Jefferson City Police Department and Missouri State Highway Patrol to execute a search warrant at 119 Pleasant Home Lane, the residence of a Drew Buersmeyer, 34, of Westphalia.
A Jefferson City Police Department news release said the investigation began with a report of a dump truck stolen from the contractor building the new Capital City High School. A second contractor working on the same job reported a generator and several gas cans stolen, the release said.
Video was posted on social media showing the stolen dump truck carrying a disabled vehicle and the other stolen items, and a separate video showed the disabled vehicle had been at the construction site at the time of the theft, Jefferson City police said. Several witnesses saw the stolen dump truck and police identified a suspect based on their descriptions, the department said.
During the course of the investigation, authorities found several stolen items, including a tandem axle dump truck, trailer, generator and many tools.
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Authorities also found multiple wild animal pelts and contacted the Missouri Department of Conversation, which opened its own investigation, according to the Osage sheriff’s office.
Deputies were able to find Buersmeyer, and took him into custody without any issues.
Deputies said the tractor and trailer Buersmeyer was pulling were stolen from a Jefferson City job site. All stolen items will be returned to the contractor.
The sheriff’s office will be applying for additional charges from the county prosecutor.
ABC 17 News has reached out to the Missouri Department of Conversation to find out if the animal pelts were illegal.
Buersmeyer was transported to Jefferson City for booking and is being held on a no bond warrant.
