BILLINGS — A truck was stolen from a Billings auto auction lot Friday during a sale and driven straight through a steel fence before speeding away. It was a bizarre getaway that left the vehicle badly damaged and the business facing thousands of dollars in losses.
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Sherri and Geordie Steilen have operated the Billings Public Auto Auction for about 16 years. The auction at 1248 First Ave. N. holds sales twice a month, bringing together dozens of vehicles and about 20 people who help run each sale.
“We're happy to sell these affordable cars to people," said Sherri Steilen. "They're looking for a little affordable car that they can get around in, and we seem to supply that for the community.”
But during Friday's regularly scheduled auction, the lot became the scene of an unexpected getaway.
“One of my guys ran up to me, said, 'Geordie, you need to come out here right now,'” Geordie Steilen said. “And I so I boogied out and saw this.”
The Steilens said a woman had been walking around the property and talking to people before getting into a silver 2015 Chevrolet Silverado.
They said the woman then drove toward the property's fence, forcing the pickup underneath it and ripping part of the steel fence from the ground before escaping onto First Avenue North.
“From a pure standpoint of crazy things happening, it had to have been utterly completely insane when it was happening,” Geordie Steilen said. "When that fence gave way, and she shot out, she had to have gained velocity pretty quickly."
The Steilens said the fence is made of heavy steel and was firmly anchored in the ground. They were particularly concerned that the truck could have struck someone as it broke through the barrier.
“I'm grateful to God that when she plowed through that fence, she didn't hit somebody and hurt them,” Sherri Steilen said. "Thank God there was nobody in front of her."
The Steilens said the truck's keys were inside and zip-tied because vehicles at the auction need to be accessible to potential buyers and drivers.
“We leave the keys in the vehicles because it's an auction. Every auction everywhere, auto auction, leaves the keys in the vehicles,” Sherri Steilen said. “Nobody ever expected somebody to plow through the fence.”
The couple estimated the truck was worth about $5,500 and said repairing the damaged fence could cost another $4,000 to $5,000.
"It's a good $10,000 loss for our little business here, for sure," said Sherri Steilen.
"For foolishness," added Geordie Steilen. "Reckless foolishness."
The Steilens turned to Facebook after the theft, where they said posts about the incident received more than 100,000 post views and generated tips from people in the community.
“People are very interested in what happened because they care,” Sherri Steilen said. “So we had a lot of leads from it.”
On Sunday, Sherri Steilen told MTN the truck was recovered in Shepherd, but was severely damaged. The Billings Police Department has not publicly confirmed whether a person has been arrested in connection with the vehicle theft.
The Steilens said they hope whoever is responsible is held accountable for the damage.
“Even if we didn't get the money, you have to pay for this,” Geordie Steilen said. “Because you just don't act like this in the community. You just don't.”
