Livelihood stolen along with truck

By CATHY LOGG

Herald Writer

MARYSVILLE — A thief who stole Stacy Bradshaw’s truck drove away with more than her means of transportation.

The criminal stole her livelihood.

Bradshaw and her sister, Susan Bradshaw, own S&ampS Coatings, a waterproof deck coating business based in Marysville.

Last week, Stacy Bradshaw stopped by her parents’ home to pick up her son and her mail and left her truck running briefly, about 30 feet from the door at the home at the corner of 84th Street and 47th Avenue NE.

"Someone jumped in the truck and took off," she said. "Everything was right there in the cab of that truck, and all my tools were in the back of that truck — lock, stock and barrel. All my credit cards were stolen, my cell phone, all the phone numbers for every contact I’ve ever had."

The tools can be replaced, but the business information is invaluable, she said.

Now, Bradshaw is operating out of a U-Haul truck her boyfriend rigged up for her. She’s borrowed tools from her boyfriend, her brother and her father, and gone $3,000 into debt to replace some of the tools.

The truck is a Ford F-150 supercab with a black canopy and a ladder rack on the top.

"It was plain Jane," she said. "It wasn’t four-wheel drive. Everybody keeps telling me it was an opportunity. Whoever stole it didn’t know what they had until they got in it."

While’s it’s plain, it’s also not a stock, assembly-line truck. It has dual fuel tanks and overload springs to carry heavy loads.

"I just want my truck back," she said. "I want to be able to work. For my sister and I, it was welfare or start our own business. We’re two women in a male-dominated field. We’ve built our reputation to be impeccable. We’ve really, really worked hard, and to have it taken away in minutes is just devastating."

The theft didn’t put them out of business, but put them about a week behind because Bradshaw couldn’t work without tools.

Anyone with information about the theft should call Marysville police at 360-651-5050.