Brazen thieves target Silverdale Boy Scout troop
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SILVERDALE, Wash. -- A group of Silverdale Boy Scouts learned some hard lessons this week after they discovered a thief had stolen their gear.
On Monday night, someone broke into a store room inside a local VFW Hall and pillaged packs, tarps, propane, bows and arrows and sleeping bags from scout troop 1539.
"So much money that we earned, so much stuff that we paid for with money that we earned. A lot of it's just gone," said Christian Powell.
The burglar or burglars hauled away all they could carry and stashed the rest in the woods, but they waited too long to come back for it and some of the gear was discovered.
The irony is that if the crooks would have come to the scouts for help, they likely would have got what they needed.
"If the person needed help, we're the one group that would have helped him," said scout leader Sherry Bougan. "The food they stole is food we give to homeless people and to veterans in need."
The scouts serve steaks to local veterans once a month. For one of the scouts, the fact that those steaks were stolen is the ultimate betrayal.
"(They) stole a whole bunch of them and the rest of them they left on the ground. Excuse me?" said Benjamin Kieifels.
A locksmith arrived at the hall on Wednesday to beef up the locks, and Bougan vowed not to let the theft slow her boys down.
"They'll bounce back," she said. "It won't stop them from doing the community service and the camping they need to do. We'll keep going."
The scouts themselves are a little wiser to the world, but they won't stop working to help others.
"We do nice things for other people. We help people and we help America and the rest of the world," Powell said.
The Kitsap County sheriff's office is investigating the case.
If you'd like to help the scouts, you can do so here.
On Monday night, someone broke into a store room inside a local VFW Hall and pillaged packs, tarps, propane, bows and arrows and sleeping bags from scout troop 1539.
"So much money that we earned, so much stuff that we paid for with money that we earned. A lot of it's just gone," said Christian Powell.
The burglar or burglars hauled away all they could carry and stashed the rest in the woods, but they waited too long to come back for it and some of the gear was discovered.
The irony is that if the crooks would have come to the scouts for help, they likely would have got what they needed.
"If the person needed help, we're the one group that would have helped him," said scout leader Sherry Bougan. "The food they stole is food we give to homeless people and to veterans in need."
The scouts serve steaks to local veterans once a month. For one of the scouts, the fact that those steaks were stolen is the ultimate betrayal.
"(They) stole a whole bunch of them and the rest of them they left on the ground. Excuse me?" said Benjamin Kieifels.
A locksmith arrived at the hall on Wednesday to beef up the locks, and Bougan vowed not to let the theft slow her boys down.
"They'll bounce back," she said. "It won't stop them from doing the community service and the camping they need to do. We'll keep going."
The scouts themselves are a little wiser to the world, but they won't stop working to help others.
"We do nice things for other people. We help people and we help America and the rest of the world," Powell said.
The Kitsap County sheriff's office is investigating the case.
If you'd like to help the scouts, you can do so here.
I feel sorry for them, but I am also curious why they kept their "gear" at the VFW hall, rather than in their own possession. My Dad was in charge of my brother's BS troop way back when, and each scout was responsible for his own gear - packs, tarps, tents, etc. There was no "central warehouse" or location that everyone's stuff was stored at.
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I agree with the scout who was ticked about the food left on the ground. Why take it if you can't carry it and/or use it? That's just waste, especiallywhen there are so many homeless & hungry.
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Since the scouts are a known entity, in that they are providing for those less fortunate, I would bet that this was done by someone who knew about them & what they had on site. I hope the creeps who did this are caught.
 @LocalLady The gear belongs to the troop, not the individuals, therefore, it is stored by the troop. However, the troop as a whole has been responsible for raising the funds to purchase it over the years. It is a very large troop by normal standards, so trying to organize gear for outings by individuals would be a nightmare. Each pack/troop has different methods, and some troops don't have their own meeting/storage space, but most troops these days have some sort of community gear.
I am thinking homeless people? Not that it's right, but seems like they would be needing this stuff more in winter than other people would.
 @Anarchy The Kitsap Co. Sheriff's Office suggested much the same thing to our troop when they were investigating the robbery.
@Radar323 Well, I hope they catch whoever did this. And that the boys get their things back!
SICK!!!
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The Boy Scouts is an awesome organization!
@Truth Percolates While I hate to see anyone, esp. children, have their things stolen. I think calling an organization that discriminates, "awesome," is a stretch.
Whatâs up with the recent rash of Boy Scout, Girl Scout, Boys and Girls club rip-offs? Â If you are a bad person, please donât steal from the children.
What exactly do these nut balls gain by doing this? Does this kid of stuff really hold that much actual value to them?
 @Zoso My growing cynical nature says that the propane can be used to make meth. My compassionate side says they needed food and shelter.
...Then my cynical side beat up my compassionate side and made me forget about the food and shelter thing.
I live near the VFW Hall just off of Fairgrounds and Central Valley. My car and 3 others in my apartments got broke into about 2 and a half months ago all in the same night. They toke everything and messed up my car door. They tore the lock out of another one of the cars. They grabbed a lot more then I thought possible for one trip. These scouts are lucky the sheriff's department is investigating. They didn't even want to show up to the apartments to take down our cases. I hope these people get caught, and part of me hopes too that it's the same people who broke into my car so that they get charged and put in jail. Plus, getting my I-Pod, stereo, car emergency kit, rear-view mirror, etc. back would be nice...
 @LinkOfHyrule yeah; its bad everywhere [corrupted parasites]. I was in Kitsap about 5 years ago; had a bunch of electronics stolen out of my car; cops ended up recovering all of it when they arrested the thief for something unrelated. Guess what? they wouldnt give any of my stuff back unless I showed up from 12 to 2 weekdays. Well I have a REAL job [on the east side of the sound] and after several months I finally make it in there and they cant find my stuff; swear to god. All of these worthless parasites should be replaced with unemployed college grads and then restrict their activities to heroism and aiding the public; NOT sitting around in speed traps and harrassing kids riding their bikes on the sidewalk without helmets. VOTE LIBERTARIAN!
 @LinkOfHyrule Yea, I called the police when my car was broken into, no one came. My insurance asked if I filed a report and I told them that the police never showed up and I called a few times. Maybe I should have mentioned donuts and starbucks to get them to come out.Â
P.S. There has been a large amount of break-ins around the area, so anybody else near-by, be aware of your surroundings. The sheriff's department only tells you there has been a ton of break-ins after it's happened to you.
Get used to it kids. People seem to be becoming more and more disgusting every year.
Where do we send the money / goods to fix this?
 @Agent43 Click on the link at the end of the story to make a credit card donation to the KOMO Problem Solvers and specify it is for the boy scout troop that was burglarized.
 @Furd I missed that!  Thanks
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I have a two-burner propane camp stove I'm willing to donate. If Eric Johnson is willing to respond here I will reply to his E-mail with details.
 @Furd On behalf of Troop 1539 (my son is a member of the troop), THANK YOU for your generous offer! Our troop primarily does backpacking trips requiring lightweight stoves, and unless you are in Kitsap County, the cost of transporting or picking up the stove from you would likely be prohibitive. May I suggest that you donate it to a Boy Scout troop or Cub Scout pack that is in your local area? I am sure it would be greatly appreciated.Â
Thank you so much for thinking us us and caring enough to help!Â
@ Furd: click on his name in blue @ the top of the article. It will link you to his email. You can contact him that way with your personal info.
 @Content_People Thank you. I am well aware of how to contact Mr. Johnson. I posted in that manner to see if he reads the comments to his stories. Also, I want Mr. Johnson to contact the Den mother/Troop leader to see if they actually want the stove.
Poor boys. I'd be so upset if that happened to my son's den. I hope people feel compelled to donate lost items.Â