$25,000 loss:" Thieves are stealing skidloaders, and one landscaper is offering a hefty reward

SUSSEX (WITI) -- The owner of a Sussex landscaping company says he was ripped off, and he's likely not the only one. Thieves are stealing skidloaders -- heavy machines worth tens of thousands of dollars. There is a reward being offered in the hopes those responsible will soon be apprehended.

Soon enough there won't be much snow to push around, and Shawn Kelly will get busy.

"Spring is when everyone wants to be the first one in. We only have so much time to do our work," Kelly said.

Right now, Kelly is working with less. The Pewaukee man owns Kelly's Greenscapes in Sussex. During the winter, he plows and hauls snow. His skidloaders are planted at job sites from Pewaukee to Cudahy.

"Because of the fact that we don't want to travel with each piece of equipment every time there is a snow storm," Kelly said.

Last Thursday, March 5th, Kelly says someone took off with one of his skidloaders.

"I am one of several owners that have had them stolen in that vacinity. In fact, I have had phone calls from five other people and a total of seven skidsters stolen from the Oak Creek, Cudahy area," Kelly said.

Though the skidloaders aren't brand new, they're still worth a lot of money.

"$25,000 loss," Kelly said.

Kelly says unfortunately, the machines are vulnerable. Any skidloader can be started using one key.

"So if I go into any New Holland machine, I'll be starting it with this identical key," Kelly said.

Kelly has surveillance cameras and flood lights on his property, but he says job sites can be a different story. Spurred by the loss, he is offering a $10,000 reward to anyone who can help him get his equipment back.

"Not just to protect myself, but there are many people in this business that I truly appreciate working with and there are good people out there getting taken advantage of," Kelly said.

The chances he'll get his property back aren't good, but Kelly says it's worth trying to catch a thief.

"If I could save one headache from happening for anyone else that's in this market, great. I did my job for the day," Kelly said.

Kelly says he reported the theft of his skidloader to Cudahy police. He says skidloaders are harder to track than stolen cars because they don't have license plates -- only serial numbers.

If you have any information that could help in this case, you're asked to call police.