Portable toilet worth $3000 stolen during Te Teko fundraiser

Who'd steal a full portaloo?

That's the question organisers of an Eastern Bay fun run are asking after a well-used portaloo worth $3000 vanished.

Te Teko Marae held its inaugural Omataroa 8km Walk and Run on Saturday, October 12 to fundraise for its proposed new wharekai. About 600 competitors took part

The stolen portaloo, which had been bolted down, was one of eight located on Galatea Road and one of 32 servicing the big crowd.

Read more: One trailer returned but police warn of a rise in theft

Tuariki Marae chairwoman Mary Hepi said she was first made aware of the vanished dunny when the portaloo contractor called in on Sunday morning.

"He came in and told us we had a bit of a shitty situation in that one of the 32 Superloo portaloos we had hired had vanished," Hepi said.

Read more: Family pleads for return of pounamu missing from Rotorua grave

"We had the toilets placed along the 8km track, including eight at an aid station on the side of Galatea Rd. It was one of the eight that was taken."

Hepi said the Superloo contractor thought the heist had been pre-planned the thief would have needed a trailer and had to have been strong enough to lift a full loo.

"It was also bolted to the ground to prevent it being stolen or blown over."

She said it was disappointing because the event was otherwise a success.

"There's a conspiracy theory circulating in Te Teko that someone is trying to set themselves up in an off-the-grid situation because, as well as the toilet, solar lights have been removed from the local park and the pedestrian crossing near the school."

Hepi said cameras at the Matahina Dam and the entranceway to Whakatāne did not capture a vehicle towing the disappearing outhouse.

Read more: Arrests made after cars targeted on Te Ngae Rd

"The cost to replace the portaloo is $3000 which makes a huge difference to the money we made from the fun run."

Read more: Police Notebook: Be on the lookout for black market cigarettes and tobacco

The theft has been reported to the police.

Hepi is offering a reward of "fry bread" for information about the theft.