$8,500 trailer stolen from Indian Land High School Band

INDIAN LAND, S.C. (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) — The Indian Land High School Band Director is furious after discovering someone stole the band’s trailer over the weekend.

“Just sick to my stomach,” said Mathew Willis. “Angry. Just a hope we’ll be able to either find it or replace it.”

Willis has been teaching music for more than a decade, and this weekend, he experienced a first.

“Within 10-15 minutes, we kind of deduced it had been stolen,” he said.

He’s talking about the band’s trailer. Students spent months raising $8,500 so the school could purchase it for the band.

“The percussion equipment, the props, the sound equipment,” he listed, “it’s a pretty integral part to how we get to and from our events in the fall.”

It was so new, the school had yet to get it covered in decals like their old one.

“Little over three months and we used it just about every weekend,” Willis said.

Security footage from Friday night shows a black truck with the trailer on its hitch.

“It drove right past, and we did not get plates and we did not get the model,” said student Mirsha Romero. “We just know that it was a dark color.”

Despite the boot on the tire, and locks on other parts of the brand-new trailer, the driver was able to get away. The police report even mentions a lack of evidence that any locks were cut.

“I imagine all they see is taking a big piece of equipment from a school,” Willis said. “I don’t think what they see is my 20 percussionists that take pride in being able to load that trailer in 15 minutes with all of our equipment.”

The band knows the show must go on; after all, they have a parade coming up in December.

“[It] happens and we’ll just have to figure it out because that’s just what we’ve always done,” said Romero.

The officer who filled out the report said the truck appeared to be a Dodge Ram. If you see the truck or trailer around town, call the police.