By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — John Sperling left his truck parked at the back door of his butcher shop on Monday night, with the doors locked and a full tank of gas.

When he returned on Tuesday morning, it was gone.

“My first thought was, ‘I sure hope Jon borrowed it,” said Sperling, but a quick chat with his stepson confirmed his fears.

The truck — a white Ford F-350, dating from the mid-2000s — had vanished from the parking lot behind JMR Meats on Davidson’s Washington Avenue.

The vehicle was stolen sometime between 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 16 and 5:30 a.m. on Jan. 17.

Sperling said police arrived around 8 a.m. to investigate. He also reported the theft to city police in case the vehicle was spotted right away.

Const. Kevin Morrissette of the Craik RCMP confirmed that the truck was reported stolen and that the incident was under investigation.

Police had not identified any suspects as of last week, but Morrissette invited the public to contact the police with any information.

Sperling, who lives in Craik, said having his vehicle stolen gave him a better sense of the frustration felt by others in that situation.

“You feel violated,” he said Wednesday. “I had a knot in my stomach all yesterday morning … (and) I was pretty angry yesterday. It hurts.”

Making matters worse, Sperling said he would also have to replace the equipment that he kept inside the truck, including a power inverter, gun rack and other tools.

Losing a full tank of gas was no small potatoes either, he added: “She was topped right up.”

Anyone with details is asked to contact the Craik RCMP at 306-734-5200.