Trailer stolen on side of I-25 in Albuquerque along with ATV and elk meat

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – It was not the trip an Oklahoma man thought he’d have while hunting in New Mexico. That hunter is out tens of thousands of dollars after someone stole his trailer and the thieves also got away with a lot more.

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Cole Register, a hunter from Oklahoma, was in the Gila elk hunting last weekend. On his way home through Albuquerque late Sunday night, Register noticed a broken leaf spring on his trailer. After spending the night in his truck along I-25, on Monday morning Register left his trailer near the Rio Bravo exit, hoping to come back soon with parts for repair.

“I was gone about 45 minutes tops, came back and my whole rig was gone,” said Register.

Register said he’s out roughly $20,000 because the trailer had a 2013 Polaris Ranger ATV, camping gear, and tools. “The trailer was incapacitated. It wasn’t towable. I would have never left it there overnight. So, whoever took it obviously went to a whole lot of trouble.”

However, that’s not the only thing missing. The thief even took part of an elk Register had just harvested which took about 12 hours to pack out. “A lot of the stuff probably means nothing to them, my tent for example, has some sentimental value that I planned on using for years to come with my family.”

He’s now hoping someone will come forward with more information about where his stuff went. “They took stuff from me that I use all the time. We’ve got a couple of other things coming up that we planned on using that equipment that they took off my trailer. It’s just what we love to do.”

Register said his stolen gear is not covered by insurance. He’s asking anyone that may know anything to contact him at cole.register@yahoo.com or the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office said no one has been arrested and the trailer has not been found. The investigation is ongoing.

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