Lincoln County Sheriff’s detectives are searching for an expensive piece of construction equipment that was stolen from a construction site off Startown Road.

On Monday (June 19) deputies were dispatched to the site where new homes are being built. The site manager told officers that a red in color 2020 model Dingo Ditch Witch was stolen from the site around 1:30 a.m. on June 19, 2023.

A tracking device on the vehicle indicated the equipment was at a location on Robinson Road in Newton. Catawba County Sheriff’s deputies checked that location and located a GPS unit that had been removed from the equipment but the Ditch Witch, valued at $65,000 was still missing.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the equipment or possible suspects is asked to contact the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office at 704-732-9050, the Lincoln County Communications Center at 704-735-8202, or the Lincolnton/Lincoln County Crime Stoppers at 704-736-8909.