Mendota police use of social media leads to recovering stolen shed

A storage shed reported stolen in Mendota and publicized on Facebook by Mendota police was returned to its owner Wednesday.

Mendota police said they seized the wooden storage shed at a property in rural Ancona, which is in Livingston County southwest of Streator, after obtaining a search warrant. Police said further investigation into the theft is ongoing.

On Tuesday, Mendota police shared on Facebook a video of a man at a convenience store sought for questioning in regard to the stolen shed.

A day earlier, police had warned the suspect with a Facebook post their image would be released on the site if they didn’t contact Mendota police and fess up.

“Witnesses reported that you worked so diligently to load this large shed onto such a small trailer completely by yourself,” Mendota police’s Facebook post said. “The only problem is, the owner says, the shed is not yours to take. Failure to do so, will result in your image being released on Facebook on Tuesday, September 13, 2022. Yes, we are aware that you stopped at a local convenience store in Mendota prior to your shed acquisition for some libations and snacks and we must say the video is brilliant.”

The 8-by-16 foot wooden storage shed was reported stolen Aug. 30 in the 100 block of Sixth Avenue. Police posted a picture of the truck and trailer.

“MPD would like to thank the community and its ever far reaching supporters who made this possible,” police said on Facebook. “With your assistance we located the property, offending vehicle, offending trailer, located the stolen shed and identified the purported offender.”