Local authorities are investigating the theft of a damaged black dump trailer after surveillance footage caught a suspect vehicle hauling it away from a local hotel parking lot late Friday night.

According to a police report filed by Patrolman Colten Johns of the Crossville Police Department, officers received a report on the morning of July 18, 2026, from the owner, who noticed his black Kaufman 15K dump trailer missing from the truck parking area at the Quality Inn on US-127. He told police the trailer had been parked at the location for some time due to existing damage and ongoing insurance matters, noting he had last seen it intact while performing maintenance on July 16.

After confirming local tow companies, city police, county deputies, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol had not impounded the trailer, Patrolman Johns reviewed security footage from the Quality Inn and a nearby Exxon station.

The video footage captured a distinctive, slightly lifted orange Chevrolet Avalanche—featuring a large black section along the bottom of its doors—pulling into the parking lot around 10:20 PM on July 17. The vehicle remained beside the trailer with its lights off before briefly leaving. It returned at 11:28 PM, again switching off its lights. Minutes later, at approximately 11:35 PM, the Avalanche was recorded pulling out of the lot with the trailer attached and heading southbound on US-127. Exxon camera footage later showed the truck turning onto the Interstate 40 Westbound ramp.

Investigators quickly identified a potential match for the vehicle. Cumberland County Deputy Whinebarger was dispatched to a residence on Sawmill Road in Crossville, where he located an orange Chevy Avalanche matching the exact description seen in the surveillance footage. Attempts to make contact with the resident were unsuccessful at the scene, and the trailer was not initially observed on the property.

The missing trailer was successfully recovered and returned to the owner later in the evening on July 18. The owner indicated he wishes to press charges for theft of property. Police have documented message exchanges between the owner and the suspect as part of the ongoing investigation.