A stolen John Deere tractorwas recovered and arrest made before owners even knew it was missing Wednesday morning.

While patrolling roads in the northern part of Rush County earlier that day, Rush County deputy Terry Drake made what he thought was a routine stop shortly after 3 a.m. east of Mays on CR 900N.

As it turned out, the stop was anything but routine and has since lead to the arrest of Carl D. Green Jr., 38, Connersville and a search for Tolby James Steele, 27, also of Connersville.

“At approximately 3:30 a.m. I stopped a pickup truck pulling a trailer that was hauling a new John Deere tractor for a registration violation. In talking with the occupants (later identified as Steele and Green) I became suspicious of the incident,” Drake said.

The deputy continued by saying that at the early hour there was no way to verify the status of the tractor although since the trailer was improperly registered for false or fictitious registration, both the trailer and tractor were impounded.

A few hours later it was learned that the tractor had in fact been stolen sometime during the night from Smith Implement, 1111 West Third Street, Rushville.

“The owners of the tractor did not know the tractor had been stolen until contacted by the RCSD Wednesday morning,” sheriff Jeff Sherwood said.

Following verification of the theft, the Connersville Police Department was contacted and Green was taken into custody a short time later. Steele however fled the area and is still being sought in connection with the incident.

Green is charged with possession of stolen property and auto theft. After being transported to Rush County Jail it has been learned that he has since posted a $10,000 bond and has been released.

According to Drake, anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Steele is asked to contact the RCSD at (765) 932-2931 or the Connersville Police Department.

Frank Denzler can be contacted at (765) 932-2222 ext. 106 or via e-mail at frank.denzler@rushvillerepublican.com. To add a comment to this story visit our Web site at www.rushvillerepublican.com.