WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - The owner of a local flooring company is looking for justice after his pick up truck and trailer were stolen at a gas station. The owners tell KAKE they’ve located the trailer but it's been gutted. Now they’re still missing their truck and they are thousands of dollars in the hole for the tools that were inside.

“Every time I need something I realize it’s in the trailer and I don’t have it anymore,” said Shawn Patrick, co-owner of River City Hardwood Floors. 

Patrick owns his own hardwood floor company and last Thursday he stopped at a gas station at Lincoln and Laura for a drink.

“In the two minutes that I was gone, the guy that was behind me in line took off running out the gas station jumped in the truck and took off. He just saw that the keys were in it and he took advantage of it. Now everything is gone,” said Patrick. 

In less than a minute his 2000 GMC Sierra pickup and trailer was stolen. 

 

“Violated is definitely the way I feel. A little helpless because I can’t do anything about it,” said Patrick. 

Thanks to GPS technology he was able to locate his trailer 2 hours after the theft, just 4 blocks away from his home, but to his dismay it was already stripped.

It used to hold $23,000 worth of tools and construction equipment. 

“Hard time believing that he could get all that stuff out of there that fast. But this is what he left us with,” said Patrick. 

This trailer held saws, air compressors, vacuums, pneumatic guns, work clothes, 50 keys, and Shawn’s cellphone.

 

“All my contacts, all my customers' contacts, my banking stuff, all that stuff is gone. I’ve had to go in and change all my banking to make sure he can’t get into that. Had to change all the company’s banking so he can’t get into that,” said Patrick. 

He says it’s like working with one arm pinned behind your back but the show must go on when you own a small business. 

“We have to keep working, we can’t just stop or everyone’s in trouble,” said Patrick. 

He filed a police report on the day of the theft, but he and his wife did some investigating of their own too. They found where their truck was taken and actually got security footage from a neighbor showing the stolen goods being taken into a home. They didn’t share the video because they said the homeowner fears retaliation. 

“And the police have seen this video. Unfortunately they said it's just not enough evidence to do something about it,” said Patrick. 

He’s concerned and says insurance will only cover 50 cents on the dollar for his stolen tools leaving him in a difficult position. His truck is still missing. Now he’s warning others to watch out for thefts like this. 

“Don’t ever let your guard down, always take your keys, always lock your doors. Even if you’re going to be, like I was, I was only 10 feet away from my truck. I didn’t ever think this would happen,” said Patrick.