Theft worsens grief for rural pair

A borrowed wood splitter worth thousands of dollars was stolen from the home of Deborah Osborne and her husband the day after her mother's funeral.

The couple returned home from the tangi at 10.30pm last Friday to see the wood splitter sitting in the driveway, but when they woke early next morning it was gone. Gary Osborne noticed it had been stolen from their remote property in Bideford when he went to feed their farm animals.

"I feel absolutely angry and violated," said Mrs Osborne, who a day earlier had been in Upper Hutt with whanau, burying her mother.

"It's upsetting to now have to go through this, because this was the last thing we needed to happen."

The couple said they did not know how anyone would have been aware the wood splitter was there because they lived well off the beaten track, about 32km northeast of Masterton.

"The police officer said it was an unusual case because we're so far out and the fact that they even came through a boundary gate," said Mr Osborne. "And I didn't realise at first but then I discovered the wood was gone too."

The couple had borrowed the small wood splitter, worth about $3000-$4000, from a friend who had owned it for just over a year. It had been "well out of sight", parked about half a kilometre from the property's boundary gate.

The couple had been working for about four months stockpiling macrocarpa wood, because they relied on fire to heat their remote farmhouse during winter, when snow fell close by at 300 metres.

Mrs Osborne said she had exhausted the phone directory calling everyone on Te Ore Ore Bideford Rd to ask if anyone had information about the theft.

Only one person had sighted the jade-green wood splitter. It was spotted being transported south on Te Ore Ore Bideford Rd, about 7.45 on Saturday morning.

"It was being towed, it had a silver tarpaulin on it, which was flapping about, which brought it to the attention of a resident. They're the only ones in a 30km distance that saw it," Mrs Osborne said.

Unfortunately, the person could not recall details of the vehicle towing the sideway wood splitter, which had green-rimmed wheelbarrow wheels.

"They must have been going slow because the wheelbarrow wheels would have got the speed wobbles." Mr Osborne said that judging by the tread marks left on their dirt driveway, he believed the vehicle must have been a commercial van or light truck.

"We have been on the property for a long time and have never had any problems, so this is unusual," he said.

The wood splitter had not been insured and the friend who owned it had been understanding of the situation, the couple said.

"He has been really good but we don't want to leave him out of pocket so we'll have to reimburse him if it doesn't come back.

"We're not rich farmers."

They said if anybody knew of the wood splitter's whereabouts, to report it to the Masterton police.

"We hope someone will see it and return it.

"They can keep the wood but we would really like the wood splitter back, please."

The wood splitter was clean and in good condition when it was snatched.

The couple said the wood scraps left on their driveway would give them two days of warmth and then they would just have to stick it out in the cold.

"It's meant to snow and fire is our heating.

"But we'll get through."