COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Caribe Sur Food truck parks for the night in front of the Cakes and More family-owned bakery on High Street in Columbus’ Beechwold and Clintonville neighborhood.
When her mother called and said the truck was missing from it’s spot, co-owner Valerie Rojas thought she was joking.
“I actually was getting my son ready for school and my mom called me at around 8:00 a.m. on December 3, which was Friday morning and informed me that the truck was not no longer there,” said Rojas. “She of course went and looked at cameras and everything.”
Security footage from Pita Hut N Grille show a red pickup truck pulling into the parking lot just before 7:00 a.m. In about ten minutes, the video shows the Caribe Sur truck, and the red pickup truck, leaving.
Rojas says the thieves hotwired the truck, and dumped it on Indianola Avenue.
“We can't turn it on, the ignitions are punched out, wires are everywhere,” said Rojas. “There's food all over the place. We had to throw all that away. But yeah, everything was pretty messed up.”
Rojas tells 10TV the truck is insured and no restaurant equipment was taken from inside. The truck is insured, according to Rojas, but it will take months to get the engine repaired and back in business.
“Other than that, we're hoping that we can run by springtime, hopefully,” said Rojas.
Where the Caribe Sur was found was about a mile and a half from another food truck that was stolen the next day.
La Poblanita was towed away and stolen early Saturday morning. The Sorianos, who own the trailer, were reunited with the vehicle on Monday morning. All of the grills, countertops, sinks, propane tanks and exhaust fan were gutted.
Jesus Soriano gave 10TV a tour inside of the damage. He is now warning other truck owners to be aware of what is happening in the community.
“Stay safe, upgrade your security, if you can,” said Soriano. “You don't want this to happen. Because it's really not just about us and we weren't the only ones. We weren't the only ones that got hit, or that were stolen from.”
In the La Poblanita case, a red pickup truck was seen towing away the trailer.
Columbus police said they are now investigating a possible link between the two cases, and want food truck operators to know they are monitoring the situation, and to take precautions to make sure your business is secured.