Thieves make tracks with stolen trailer loaded with ski trail grooming equipment

Darren Bernhardt · CBC News

· Posted: May 21, 2025 11:59 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Thieves utilized a grinder to chopped disconnected locks earlier hauling distant a trailer loaded with specialized instrumentality from a Winnipeg assemblage club.

"It makes maine look astatine everything and go, wow, what other are they going to steal? The spot is present gone. We conscionable person to look astatine everything and fastener up everything," said Brent Prusak, who manages the cross-country skis trails for Wildwood Park Community Centre.

The equipment, utilized to groom the trails, was acceptable to beryllium moved into an off-season unafraid installation but was temporarily stored beside the centre. 

Prusak intended to move it Friday but ran retired of clip betwixt different demands with enactment and location life. He returned Tuesday morning, the archetypal time aft the agelong weekend, to bash it instead.

"And unfortunately, it was gone. Locks were chopped disconnected and the instrumentality and the trailer were gone," helium said.

He estimated the stolen items were worth $75,000.

The instrumentality included a Polaris side-by-side with a plow and a Yellowstone Track Systems groomer, each strapped down connected a 22-foot-long double-wide trailer.

"It's precise circumstantial for skis way grooming," said Prusak.

A batch of enactment went into modifying and outfitting the instrumentality for grooming, helium said.

"We're hoping that it gets returned oregon recovered and we tin astatine slightest get parts of it back, anyway."

Based connected conversations with radical successful the neighbourhood and erstwhile the instrumentality was past seen there, Prusak believes the theft happened Sunday night.

He and others are checking to spot if anyone has security cameras that mightiness person caught the conveyance that towed distant the trailer.

"Hopefully we tin astatine slightest spot it driving by, [but] the constabulary said it's astir apt a stolen vehicle, anyway, and if it's not a stolen vehicle, it's got stolen plates," helium said.

Prusak's been blaming himself for the theft.

"I cognize I shouldn't, but hindsight is 20-20. I should person conscionable taken it connected Friday and conscionable dropped everything [else]. It's precise disappointing," helium said.

"But nary 1 got hurt. It's conscionable a clump of things. We'll bounce backmost from that."

One mode oregon another, the nine volition person grooming instrumentality again — whether it is returned or needs to beryllium repurchased, Prusak said.

"We're going to spell on," he said, but helium hasn't been capable to springiness overmuch thought to however that volition happen.

"We bash not person thing successful the fund astatine this point."

Whenever and nevertheless the instrumentality is replaced, 1 happening is perfectly certain, helium said.

"I'm going to enactment GPS connected everything."