A hunt for the owner of a custom-built trailer found amongst a huge haul of stolen property west of Hastings last month has turned into a search for the $14,000 paving compactor it once carried.
Hawke's Bay Police tactical crime squad officer Senior Constable Pehi Potaka said the trailer was claimed yesterday, just hours after a renewed appeal by police through Hawke's Bay Today for more burglary and theft victims to step forward to help identify an estimated $30,000 still unclaimed from the haul uncovered at a residential property near Bridge Pa on August 25.
Mr Potaka said the trailer had been identified as one reported missing along with a compactor weighing up to 400kg in January.
But the compactor was still missing. Mr Potaka estimates about two-thirds of a haul calculated to be worth over $100,000, containing dozens of items stolen in at least 50 thefts or burglaries over the past two years has been claimed.
While returned items were mainly able to be linked with victims through serial numbers, police are now relying on possible victims to identify other goods.
A man charged in relation to the find is expected to make his second appearance in court today with police expected to oppose bail.