A Minneapolis truck driver is hoping the image of a man stealing his semi truck will help lead to the arrest of the thief after the return of his truck.
Joe Cotrone, a truck driver of 25 years, says he recently started driving local after being OTR for years. But so far, his switch to local driving hasn’t served him well – his semi truck was stolen early on Sunday morning, June 11th.
“I just came off the road in October of last year to do this locally, moving containers around the city, so I’m home every night now,” Cotrone said. He says he dropped the rig off at Northeast Truck and Auto in Blaine.on Friday to have the air conditioning fixed, but it was stolen before they could work on it.
CBS reports that the shop security cameras were not working at the time of the theft, but Cotrone’s driver facing camera was. The camera caught the thief climbing behind the wheel of the truck at 2:36 a.m.
“It showed that it had moved from the shop there down to Inver Grove Heights, the truck stop,” Cotrone said. Unfortunately for Cotrone, not long after that, the thief noticed the camera and turned it off, ending the tracking. Now, Cotrone has taken to social media in hopes that someone will know something that will lead to the recovery of his livelihood.
“My heart sunk. It’s my work, my livelihood, you know?” Cotrone said.
As of early Tuesday morning, June 13th, the truck has been found, but in poor condition. Now, Cotrone and his family are hoping for the arrest of the man responsible.
“The truck has been found, but not in the condition we were hoping,” wrote a friend of Cotrone in a Facebook post. “If anyone has any information that will lead to the arrest of the man who stole it, we would appreciate it!”
A short time later, pictures of the truck submerged in a body of water were posted to Facebook by Cotrone.
