Hot items: grills, spas on exhibit are stolen

By MARALINE KUBIK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- More than $20,000 worth of large-ticket items -- hot tubs, gas grills and mosquito magnets -- were stolen from displays at the Canfield Fair, and at least one vendor missing a truckload of merchandise is offering a reward for information leading to those responsible.
He is also undecided about whether he'll be back for the fair in 2004.
"This is our eighth year at the fair and this is the first time we've had a problem," said Mark Wheeler, co-owner of Wheeler's Fireplace & amp; Grill, Niles.
Expensive items missing
Wednesday morning, opening day of the fair, Wheeler discovered several items missing from inside his company's display tent.
Two large stainless steel grills -- each between 4 and 5 feet long and collectively valued at $3,000 -- were gone, along with another grill that sells for $800, four mosquito magnets that sell for $500 each and a chimnea, a type of portable outdoor ceramic fireplace.
"I put everything inside the tent, closed it up and left around 5 p.m. Tuesday," Wheeler said. "I came back around 7:30 the next morning and discovered the grills were gone." Then, he said, he realized more than the two stainless steel grills were missing.
Wheeler said he believes that more than one person was involved in removing the merchandise and that the culprits must have had a large truck. The two grills alone would fill the bed of a pickup truck, he said, and were too heavy for a single person to easily roll up a ramp and into a truck.
He also believes whoever is responsible spent a good amount of time removing the items. First, the flaps of the tent had to be unlaced and unhooked, he said. "Then they sorted through the merchandise taking the most expensive items."
"I don't know why they took the chimnea; it only cost about $219," he added.
Fireplaces untouched
Several fireplaces on display were untouched. They are attached to gas lines, and Wheeler said he thinks that may have deterred the thieves from removing even more merchandise.
Insurance will cover costs to replace the missing items, he said, but he has no way of knowing what the theft will cost him in sales.
"The stainless steel grills are part of a new line. I had to pull quite a few strings to get them here before we even got our shipment. The mosquito magnets are a new item, too. Who knows how many we would have sold?" Wheeler said.
The mosquito magnets, fueled by propane, lure insects and then kill them with carbon dioxide.
Although Wheeler said he has always enjoyed exhibiting at the Canfield Fair, he is not sure if he'll return next year.
"There are so many rules and regulations that we have to go by just to set up out here, and we pay a lot. Then on set-up days, all the gates are open. It should be secure," he said. "Anybody can come in, walk around to see what's here during the day and then go rent a Ryder truck, come back and load up."
Wheeler also said someone should have noticed a truck being loaded on a day when all other exhibitors were unloading and is offering a $500 reward to anyone with information.
Stolen hot tubs
The fairgrounds, however, may be too difficult for security officers to patrol, theorized Mike Baele, a sales manager for Master Spas, a line of hot tubs that Rhiel Supply Co. has on exhibit.
Two hot tubs disappeared from the Rhiel Supply exhibit last weekend, the second year in a row that hot tubs have been stolen from the fair.
Lt. Terry Alexander of the Canfield Fair police declined to comment on either theft, citing ongoing investigations.
"We came out and set up early because we were told they had security," Baele said. Nevertheless, two hot tubs on display last Saturday were discovered missing on Monday.
The missing spas weigh between 400 and 600 pounds and measure 7 feet wide.
They were among the smaller spas Rhiel offers "and we tried to box them in with bigger tubs, but they got it out of there," Baele said, motioning to an empty area near the back of Rhiel's tent.
Whoever took the hot tubs, he said, "will eventually get caught because they'll have to get parts from us. We've already reported the serial numbers to the manufacturer."
Recovered tub
Last year, a $6,500 hot tub stolen from the display was recovered after whoever took it abandoned it, he said.
Baele said it would have taken two or three people and a box truck to haul away the hot tubs stolen this year.
kubik@vindy.com