LINCOLN, Maine — The owner of a Sears outlet on West Broadway offered a $100 reward Thursday for information leading to the return of a stolen riding lawnmower worth $1,900, officials said.
Store owner Alan Susee said thefts like these do considerable damage to small independent stores like his. Besides having to buy a new mower, Susee said he will likely have to hire a security consultant for about $3,500.
“We don’t have a massive budget like a Wal-Mart would,” said Susee, who also owns a Sears store in Fort Kent. “Our profit margin in that store is very small. It is very hurtful, and it will take awhile for the store to recover from it.”
Store employees came to work on Wednesday morning and found that the red Craftsman 20-HP 42-inch riding lawnmower was stolen from a line of mowers chained together sometime overnight Tuesday, said Lincoln police Detective Mark Fucile, who is investigating the theft.
The chain was cut and the lawnmower possibly carried away, as it had no key in its ignition, Fucile said. He said he assumes that two people would likely be needed to get the mower onto another vehicle.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 794-2221.