Authorities recover portion of stolen box truck buried in Putnam County | News

EATONTON, Ga. — Just hours after fire destroyed C & R Custom Cabinets on U.S. Highway 441 near Lake Sinclair in Baldwin County earlier this summer, someone stole a box truck belonging to the business.

Although the suspect who actually stole the 2007 Isuzu box truck is still being sought by detectives with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, detectives and deputies in neighboring Putnam County have located a portion of the stolen truck. It was found buried on the property of a man who, along with two other suspects, were arrested last Friday afternoon on various criminal charges.

Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Detective Maj. Brad King, who had oversees the criminal investigations division, identified the man wanted for stealing the box truck as Christopher Rehwald, 34. The suspect is described as white, standing 5-foot-11 and weighing about 160 pounds. His last known residence was on Sinclair Marina Road in Milledgeville, King said.

A warrant has been issued for his arrest in connection with the theft of the box truck.

King said Rehwald also was wanted on two previous theft warrants. One is a felony while the other charge is a misdemeanor.

The box truck was stolen sometime during the night of June 29, just hours after the owner of the cabinet shop and an employee had delivered some cabinets to a customer.

“We had received some information that the vehicle was possibly in Putnam County,” King said. “So, we contacted the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and they responded to that area and located the truck.”

Immediately, Putnam County Sheriff Howard R. Sills said deputies and detectives acted on the information from Baldwin County.

King said he and Detective Chris Youngblood drove to the neighborhood where they met up with Sills, several deputies and detectives.

Sills said the arrests of three suspects took place at a residence on Sparrow Way, which runs off Rabbit Skip Road near Murder Creek, off the Gray Highway.

Authorities walked around the back of the residence when they arrived.

“There was a new metal shop type building and all the doors were open when I was walking around in there and Detective Chris Harper told me to come to the back of that building,” Sills said. “There was fresh dirt everywhere and a small backhoe.”

Detective Lt. Harry Luke along with Deputies Chris Donovan and Alfred Flores were also part of the team that went to the residence from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. 

Sills said there was about a three-foot space between the back of the metal shop building that was not covered by dirt.

“You could see that there was some sort of room or something underneath that building,” Sills said. “Then as we got to looking at it closer, it had this waterproof membrane draped across it that you would typically put on a roof. When we pulled it back, we could easily tell that it was the top of a truck body.”

The sheriff said he immediately called for a county tractor and backhoe to be brought to the property.

“That entire truck body,…