Tulsa Theft Victim Finds Stolen Tailgate On eBay

A Tulsa man helped police recover his own stolen property; now police need help to find a man who may be connected to a string of tailgate thefts in south east Tulsa.

The thefts began last week, and while police aren’t sure if the man they are looking for is the thief, they do know he tried to sell a stolen tailgate.

10/28/2015 Related Story: Pickup Tailgate Thieves Strike Tulsa Neighborhood

It was a rude awakening for Eric Weiss.

"Came outside to go to work, tailgate's missing," he said.

And at least nine other people throughout southeast Tulsa went through the same thing after someone plucked their tailgates off of their trucks to sell for a quick buck.

Weiss thought, for sure, his was gone for good.

"You don't ever get these things back. They're gone, and you never get 'em back. You don't ever catch the guy that did it, it's just gone," he said.

But he did get it back.

The day his tailgate was taken, Weiss got online to find a replacement and actually stumbled onto his tailgate on eBay.

"It was 20 pages deep, I almost had given up. I saw it, I thought, ‘Hey there's exactly what I need.’ And when I saw it shipped from Tulsa, it was like Christmas Day or something, ‘This is mine,’" he said.

He called police who confirmed it was indeed his tailgate.

Tulsa Police Corporal Will Dalsing said, "Before we ever saw it he was able to describe the marks we would see on that tailgate."

Police said they found out about the sale through a confidential source, got photos, and now they may be a step closer to finding the thieves.

11/4/2015 Related Story: Police Seek Man Believe Connected To Tulsa Pickup Tailgate Thefts

"I really wanna talk to this guy; it is suspicious that he had this stolen tailgate. Of course, he may or may not be involved in the actual theft," Dalsing said.

Meanwhile, Weiss is content with his version of Christmas.

"Almost as exciting as when I bought my truck the first time," he said.

If you know anything about the case, you're asked to call Crime Stoppers at 918-596-COPS.