On Thursday, August 22, 2019, at approximately 3:40 pm, Tillamook 911 received a report from a caller who reported they were following a White Freightliner Gothard Truck headed north on Highway 101 towards Garibaldi. The caller said that it matched a report seen earlier on Facebook’s #TIMBERUNITY page about a truck that had been stolen about 17 hours earlier out of Coburg, OR. The caller continued to provide updates on the vehicle’s location until it was observed by Law Enforcement in Garibaldi. The vehicle was kept in sight by the deputy until backup units could arrive on scene. The truck was also verified as being the truck reported stolen from Coburg. Before backup arrived, the vehicle stopped on 1st St. in Garibaldi and the male driver and the female passenger, later identified as Rhonda Hawkins, exited the vehicle. The passenger remained, but the driver took off on foot eastbound on 1st St.
After additional officers arrived, a thorough search of the area was conducted in an attempt to locate the driver, identified as Mark Kloppel. In addition to the Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office, officers from Oregon State Police, Rockaway and Manzanita Police Department assisted in the search. The search was terminated at approx. 6pm.
The Freightliner truck was towed for safekeeping until it could be returned to the owner, Gothard Farms. Rhonda Hawkins, the passenger, was arrested for Unauthorized Entry of a Motor Vehicle and transported to the Tillamook County Correctional Facility. Hawkins possessed two dogs that were taken to the Tillamook K9 Rescue. Mark Kloppel is still at large.
There is no further information available at this time.
