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Show But the antenna's in good shape ' zbs jZ-t I ' jy '.iuV;' t , , "fte V C y4f' h-2l i n 1,1,1 When Ken Binatena looked at his pickup last Friday, what he saw was a 12-year-old truck spruced up with $1,800 worth of new parts. When he saw it Sunday morning, it was attached to the business end of a wrecker. "The winch and bumper were worth almost as much as the truck," said Binatena. "It has a new engine, a new trans in it." Binatena said he loaned the 1973 four-wheel-drive Ford Friday Fri-day (July 19) to a friend who parked it overnight in Swede Alley. He reported it missing Saturday morning when he returned and found it gone. Investigating Officer Doug Twitchell of the Utah Highway Patrol noted the keys had been left in the truck. "I'm sick," said Jan Buckner, a friend of Binatena. "We just . bought a camper for it yesterday. We were ready -to go on vacation." The light-blue truck was discovered by a passerby about 9 a.m. Sunday in a creek at the bottom of an embankment on the south side of Rose Canyon Road off Utah Highway 248. Binatena said authorities were checking out local hospitals in the hope of turning up a suspect in the theft. The driver of the truck is presumed to have been injured in the mishap. Blood was found in the truck's cab. ' ' I don' t see how anybody could have gotten out of there," said a bystander. The only undamaged part of the truck appeared to be the radio antenna, said Binatena. "It's the kind that bends," he smiled. Robin Moench Ken Binatena's pickup truck was totalled after an early-morning dip in a creek below Rose Canyon Road. |