Members of an Orcutt Boy Scout troop arrived at their storage shed at Saint Louis de Montford Church on Saturday, Feb. 4, to retrieve equipment for an upcoming camping trip—only to find that the shed’s lock had been cut and their equipment stolen.
The troop lost about $3,000 in camping gear, including new backpacking tents and a copper candleholder that Scout Leader Brian Olmstead had made for rank advancement ceremonies.
“They were bummed,” Olmstead told the Sun. “You’re sort of teaching the scouts to be good citizens and do things to help others and be charitable, and then all of a sudden their stuff gets stolen.”
He said the adults scrambled to collect their own personal camping gear so the troop could still go on their camping trip, and it ultimately worked out.
“But nobody likes property being stolen from them,” Olmstead said.
Troop 95 comprises 20 boys between the ages of 11 and 14, and Olmstead said the kids had fundraised with an annual barbecue event to help buy their camping equipment. Olmstead, who also works for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, said the troop filed a theft report, but the Sheriff’s Office doesn’t have many leads to go on.
“There’s really not a lot of evidence, unless somebody remembers seeing something,” Olmstead said. He added that the troop hadn’t been out to the storage shed in several weeks, so he’s not sure when it was broken into.
To replace the stolen equipment, the troop set up a GoFundMe page with a goal of $3,200. As of press time, the crowdfunding campaign had raised more than $4,000—about a quarter of which came from the Santa Barbara County Deputy Sheriff’s Association.
“I think one unbelievable thing about our community, especially the Santa Maria Valley, is people are very charitable,” Olmstead said. “It’s sort of cool that they recognize kids’ groups and that they fundraise and give their money to help out nonprofits, and especially kids’ groups. To donate that much, it was pretty amazing.”
This article appears in Feb 9-16, 2017.
