HAPPY VALLEY, Ore. — A Happy Valley business owner is asking the thief who stole his tractor to bring it back.
Its value goes far beyond money. The tractor is a family heirloom of sorts.
Richard Barhoum, the owner of Georges Garden Center, is retired but still spends his days at his family-owned business.
"It's been my life. Seven days a week, 12 hours a day. I love it," he said.
Barhoum said the theft happened sometime after he closed the store on Thursday night.
On Friday morning, he got a call from his neighbor.
"My neighbor called me up about 8 o'clock in the morning and said 'Richard, you better come. Your gate is wide open,'" Barhoum said.
He said he had a strong feeling the news was bad, and that it involved his tractor. He was right.
Now he’s hoping someone recognizes his John Deere tractor, or maybe has some information on where it is.
"[I have] an empty feeling. I felt like I was invaded," Barhoum said. "It could be anyone."
He said the person who broke in knew what they were doing.
"They took the rollers off the gate and they left it just the way you see it," Barhoum said. "They even took this thing off, so I can't put the gate back on […] four screws, that's all there is and they took the nuts with them too so I can't put it back on. It's crazy."
Barhoum said he and his family are attached to the tractor. It's worth about $12,000, but that's not the point.
"It's not so much the money value of the tractor. It's the sentimental value. I bought it actually for my grandkid," Barhoum said.
He said he bought it after his 2-year-old grandchild made it clear that he loved John Deere tractors.
"He's 16 now," Barhoum said with a laugh.
Fourteen years later and Barhoum said his grandson still wants it.
That’s why he's making a plea to the person who took his tractor.
"Please bring it back not for my sake, but for my grandchildren's sake. They're attached to that tractor. They love it. Please," he said.
Barhoum is convinced it wasn't just one person who stole the tractor.
If you have any information about this theft, please call the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office at 503-655-8211.