HOUSTON – Students from Bellaire High School's FFA program were heartbroken to learn someone burglarized their barn late Sunday night or early Monday morning and stole their expensive livestock trailer among other things.
"They got nine bags of feed, they took hay, they took shavings. It's crazy," said Angel Armstrong, president of the booster club. Her daughter Shelby is a member of FFA, known to most people as the Future Farmers of America. She keeps her two heifers in the barn.
"At about 3:30 this morning it was HPD calling saying we had cattle out," Armstrong said.
Armstrong rushed over to the barn located in the 11000 block of Riceville School Road and quickly realized what the thieves had taken. She told KPRC Local 2 her first concern was the animals because they were found walking in the road not too far from West Bellfort, which tends to get pretty busy.
"It's just devastating, I've been upset all day," she said.
It's unclear exactly how many animals got out but they are all safe and accounted for. It appears the thieves cut the lock on the gate, took the trailer and then left the gate open.
With a show this weekend in Washington County, the students aren't sure how they're going to transport their animals.
"There are 12 animals that are going and now we're stuck with one trailer. What do you do?" asked Armstrong. "Tell half the kids they can't go and the other half they can? How do you choose?"
The high school students are hoping the thieves have a change of heart.
"I'm hoping they'll come forward and understand what they've done to our FFA program," said Shelby Armstrong. "Or, get caught."
The trailer is valued at between $15,000 - $20,000 and transports eight animals at a time. It was donated to the program recently and still had a paper license plate.
"It's just sad that somebody would come through....they're stealing from kids," Armstrong said.