Augusta looks for suspects who stole lawnmowers and vehicles from Stuarts Draft residences

Update: The Augusta County Sheriff's Office said in a release, "This 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe has been recovered by law enforcement and is no longer considered stolen."

STUARTS DRAFT − Augusta County authorities say the theft of a sports-utility vehicle from a Stuart's Draft residence early Wednesday may be related to the discovery of stolen law equipment in the back of a rented panel truck not far from that residence.

The Augusta Sheriff's Office said in an email it was looking for suspects who ran when deputies came to investigate a "suspicious U-Haul box truck" stopped in the middle of Churchman's Mill Road shortly before 5 a.m. The email said the suspects were offloading lawnmowers from both the truck and an attached trailer when they saw the deputies approach and ran off.

Later, a White Hill Road resident reported their 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe had been stolen. The sheriff's office said it believes the fleeing suspects took the SUV, which has not been located.

At the scene, investigators recovered several lawnmowers that had been reported stolen earlier in the morning from residences on White Hill, Churchman's Mill and Guthrie roads. They also recovered a stolen Ford F-150 truck, a pull-behind trailer and an enclosed U-Haul trailer.

The stolen Tahoe is black with Virginia license plates VFN-6968.

The sheriff's office is asking anyone with home-surveillance cameras to check their systems for possible video of the thefts. If you have video or any information about the larcenies, call (540) 245-5333.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Augusta authorities recover stolen lawnmowers from U-Haul truck