Stolen ‘Jaws of Life’ recovered

On Thursday, Sept. 28, Sheriff Daniel C. Law announced the recovery of most of the property stolen from the Lytton Springs Station of the Chisholm Trail Fire Rescue located on FM 1854, in Lytton Springs.
On Friday, Sept. 15, in the early morning hours, the Caldwell County Sheriff”s Office received an anonymous tip indicating the possible location of the “jaws of life”

taken from the fire station on May 29. Deputies went to the site in Travis County and found several pieces of the “jaws of life” system hidden under abandoned furniture.
The items recovered included the Hurst hydraulic pump, Hurst hydraulic ram and its attachments, Hurst spreader/cutter combination, and a TNT Rescue hydraulic cutter. The estimated value of the recovered rescue tools was $27,000.
Fingerprints obtained at the fire station by the initial investigating deputy were sent to the Austin DPS Latent Fingerprint Analysis Section for a national database search.
On Sept. 5, detectives received a report of a positive match to the fingerprint located at the scene. Judge Edward Jarrett, County Court at Law, issued an arrest warrant for a 28-year-old Dale resident.
The Sheriff”s Combined Auto Theft Task Force, with the assistance of other agencies, arrested the male suspect on Sept. 20 in Austin.
The suspect is being held on multiple charges at the Travis County Jail. Bond amount is over $50,000. The investigation is continuing.
Chisholm Trail Fire Rescue representatives said the department had been informed of the arrest and recovery of the equipment, but declined to comment further.
(Courtesy of Paul Cowan)