CRITTENDEN COUNTY, Ark. — A Crittenden County farmer took matters into his own hands to track down his stolen equipment. The Crittenden County Sheriff’s Office says his hunt brought him straight to the suspect’s front yard.
Michael Hood and his brother are longtime farmers. Monday, he was checking on some of his land that’s a few streets off Highway 64 outside of Earle.
“And I noticed here on the road that something had hit the road,” Hood said.
Thinking something might be off, he did some investigating.
“At that point I looked out there and saw it had came across the field here,” he said. He saw track marks leading to the empty space where another plow disc normally sits.
Hood’s brother suggested he track the stolen equipment to get it back.
The sheriff says Hood tracked the equipment some six miles by following the marks left behind on the dirt and gravel road. He then followed them to a paved road where it meets Highway 64 and continued into Earle, Arkansas.
“You know, I couldn’t really track it much after that, but I just started driving around town.” After a short time, he found his equipment in front of a home in Earle. The tractor that had pulled the plow disc was still warm from the journey.
“I immediately called the Sheriff’s Office and had a deputy meet me.”
Investigators say 59-year-old Charles Brown lives at the house. He was arrested and charged.
Hood says the equipment is worth around $5,000.