Very little was left of Sam Horgan and Jaymie Paris’ ute after it was stripped.
A Shepparton couple have been devastated after their prized ute was stolen and completely stripped for parts in what they believe was a planned attack.
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Sam Horgan and Jaymie Paris had left the blue Holden Commodore VZ SS ute with a custom-built engine locked in their business yard in Joseph Baldwin Place in Shepparton on the nights of Thursday, July 31 and Friday, August 1.
Ms Paris had been taken to hospital in Melbourne and Mr Horgan needed to use her car to ferry around their three children, so he locked up his ute behind the large gates at their business, Manifolds and Mullets Mechanical.
Some time between 1.30am and 1.50am Saturday, the ute was stolen after thieves cut their way through a fence next door and hooked it up to be towed away behind a Dodge RAM vehicle.
The whole theft took only three minutes.
Ms Paris said the thieves had also been at the property at about 12.30am, looking around.
The thieves took the drivetrain.
While the ute looks fairly normal on the outside, it is a high-performance one they have done up, leading the couple to think it was a targeted theft.
“You can’t tell from the outside that it is a high-performance vehicle,” Ms Paris said.
“We made it like that.
“You don’t know what it is capable of until you turn it on.”
Ms Paris believes the thieves targeted the vehicle specifically.
“It was too professional,” she said.
“It took under three minutes to cut through a gate and drag it out.
“It was very quick, and very calculated.”
Sam Horgan won the Deni Ute Muster National Championships for circle work last year and wanted to defend his title in the ute this year.
The ute was discovered by a farmer, dumped in bushland at Wyuna on Sunday around lunchtime.
What was left of the ute, that is.
And it wasn’t very much.
The ute had been completely stripped, with only the body shell, seats and steering wheel left behind.
The whole drivetrain — which is located in the engine and produces the power and works to rotate the wheels — was taken.
The ute had also been tipped on its roof, meaning that it was now a complete write-off and would not be able to be rebuilt.
For Mr Horgan and Ms Paris, the ute was more than just another vehicle.
Every aspect of it was customised.
“A lot of time and money was put into it,” Ms Paris said.
“It’s the heart of what we do.
“It’s part of our livelihood. It’s part of us.”
Mr Horgan’s father passed way when he was young, and Ms Paris said the ute had “always been a massive tribute” to him.
Sam Horgan holds aloft the winner’s trophy from the Deni Ute Muster National Championship for circle work last year.
Mr Horgan won the Deni Ute Muster National Championship for circle work in the ute last year, a fact he was very proud of.
He planned to defend his title at this year’s championship, but those plans have been sent into disarray.
Now the couple are hoping they can get another ute in time, and do the necessary work on it, to be able to compete.
Mr Horgan said he had been “lost for words” when he found the ute had been stolen, but now he just felt devastated over it.
“I’m annoyed that they left nothing,” he said.
“They purely wanted it for the drivetrain and everything in it.”
Given what happened to them, the couple are concerned it will also happen to someone else.
“It was perfect the way they’ve stripped it,” Ms Paris said.
“This can’t be the first time they’ve done it.
“Somebody knows something. We just want to know who and stop them from doing it again.”
Only the shell of the ute was left, with the roof so damaged that there is no chance of rebuilding it.
They are offering a cash reward to anyone who can tell them or police who did it, with solid evidence that leads to an arrest.
Mr Horgan and Ms Paris can be phoned on 0480 451 394.
Shepparton Crime Investigation Unit is investigating the theft.
Anyone with information and footage can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a confidential report online at crimestoppersvic.com.au
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