Stolen Boy Scout tents end up at B&A Trail encampment

It took a lot of caramel popcorn sales for Boy Scout Troop 339 of Severna Park to raise the $3,315 used to purchase more than a dozen camping tents.

But in just one night, the 13 Alps Mountaineering four-person tents were gone, county police said.

Someone pried open two wooden storage sheds at Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church on Sept. 30 and snatched the troop's tents, along with a propane tank, two camping stoves, canned food and a wagon the boys use to sell programs at Navy football games, said Craig Lindsay, the troop's scoutmaster.

An assistant scoutmaster discovered the theft Wednesday when he went to retrieve a tent for training during a troop meeting at Woods Church.

"Someone had broken the locks to the shed," Mr. Lindsay said. "And they left a crowbar behind."

A park ranger found the tents and equipment Saturday about a mile and a half up the Baltimore Annapolis Trail off McBride Lane. A few of the troop's tents had been pitched along with two battered tents that did not belong to the Boy Scouts. The tents were set up in a prohibited camping area, and appeared as though they'd been lived out of for a few days, said Sgt. John Gilmer, a county police spokesman.

"It was set up like a camping area," he said. "Only, camping is prohibited there."

After seeing "T339" stenciled on the sides of several tents - for Troop 339 - and finding drug paraphernalia, the ranger called police. The officer who investigated the stolen tents was on duty, and quickly went to the trail, Sgt. Gilmer said.

As they inspected the tents, police found several items that identified their habitants, and drug paraphernalia.

"They had a picture of one of the suspects," Sgt. Gilmer said. "And a name was written on the picture."

Police also found a hospital wristband with a name on it and discharge date of Sept. 25.

"They also found school work that identified a teenager," Sgt. Gilmer said. "They found some more pictures, some handwritten notes with different names on them, a computer disc and a guitar."

Officers identified three young men by running the names and matching their pictures with Motor Vehicle Administration records. They also linked the young men to the crime through the Myspace.com social networking Web site, Sgt. Gilmer said.

Police said one of the alleged burglars is a teenager who dropped out of Old Mill High School and ran away from the Potomac Ridge Behavioral Health campus on Romig Drive in Crownsville. He is believed to be in Kentucky and a notification for a juvenile citation has been issued for the teen, Sgt. Gilmer said.

Officers are in the process of getting arrest warrants for two men, ages 19 and 20, who were linked to the campsite. Police would not release their names because charges are pending.

Mr. Lindsay said all 13 tents were returned to the Boy Scout troop. But they weren't in the condition they left them in.

"Three of them are definitely destroyed," he said.

Two more were badly damaged, and the remaining tents were dirty and rumpled from lying on the rocks and in the rain for several days.

"They were soaked," Mr. Lindsay said. "But the rangers had them all laid out trying to dry them and be as helpful as they could be."

The tents had been ripped out of the bags and were "strewn apart," he said. They'd also been dragged down a rocky hill to the makeshift campground.

The Boy Scouts each took home a tent to clean and repair as a project. Mr. Lindsay said the tents are "pretty nice, heavy-duty tents" valued at $255 apiece. Five of the tents were new, and had only been used two or three times.

He said the boys use the tents once or twice a month.

Throughout the year, the Boy Scouts raise money through popcorn and holiday wreath sales and concession sales at sporting events.

"The boys work hard," Mr. Lindsay said. "The money they collect is used to replenish equipment. The boys pay for it with their earnings."

Mr. Lindsay said he is upset about the theft but grateful the burglars didn't destroy other items in the storage sheds. And the stolen propane tank, two camping stoves and wagon were returned in good condition.

"Evidently they just used what they stole," he said. "They didn't trash the shed. They just took what they needed. They took stuff to camp and to eat. I have to give them some credit - they didn't tear up stuff needlessly. They could have destroyed a lot of our equipment."

He said the Boy Scouts don't mind scrubbing down the tents.

"I think a lot of the boys had sympathy for these guys," Mr. Lindsay said. "They're mad they took their stuff, but there's something pretty sad about people having to live out of the woods."