Federal firefighters seek help finding men who stole gear off Fire Engine in Inland Empire

U.S. Forest Service investigators today were seeking the public's help identifying two men who broke into a locked fire engine and stole equipment from a crew standing by for deployments during the Santa Ana wind events across the Inland Empire.   

The theft occurred in the predawn hours Friday in the 9500 block of Milliken Avenue, near Fourth Street, in Rancho Cucamonga, according to the USFS.

Agency spokesman Tyler Smith said that a crew assigned to San Bernardino National Forest Engine No. 336 had positioned the truck behind the Hilton Inn Express & Suites for ready deployment to any wildland blaze that might develop in the federal preserve, which encompasses both San Bernardino and Riverside counties, or nearby locations throughout the region.   

At 3 a.m., two men in a two-door red Jeep Wrangler pulled into the parking lot and parked next to the engine while the crew was away from it, Smith said.

He alleged the suspects ``forcibly opened three locked compartments of the engine and took a pair of bolt cutters from one of the compartments.''   

The pair then drove away.   

All of the activity was captured via the hotel's security surveillance apparatus, according to Smith.  

He said only the first number on the Jeep's license plate was readable, beginning with a ``6.''

Smith described the first suspect as a Caucasian man, standing anywhere from 5 feet, 7 inches to 6 feet tall, with ``a large build and a thin mustache, wearing a black knit hat, red jacket with yellow trim on the shoulders and sides and blue pants.''  

His cohort was described as Hispanic, 5 feet, 7 inches to 5 feet, 10 inches in height, with a ``husky build, wearing a blue baseball cap with an unknown white logo, blue long sleeve shirt and baggy jeans.''

Anyone with information was asked to contact the investigative team at 909-659-5755.