SEGUIN, Texas -- It's a theft that could happen in a matter of seconds. A thief can easily pop off a truck's tailgate and drive away, pocketing thousands of dollars once he or she sells it.
- Seguin police have cautioned residents about tailgate theft
- Numerous ways to protect your valuable tailgate
- Tailgate theft has declined slightly
Seguin resident Dan Kendrick woke up last week and noticed something was missing.
"I opened my garage door to go outside and noticed that there was no longer a tailgate on my truck," Kendrick said.
He said initial estimates from insurance price a replacement at around $7,000.
"I would assume that's probably a high end as far as tailgates go. You probably couldn't get a more expensive tailgate," Kendrick said.
Seguin police have put out a caution to residents.
"Once we saw cities around us being targeted or hit, then we passed that information onto the public so that they can prevent that," Tanya Brown with the Seguin Police Department said.
There are many ways to prevent the crime. One of them is to add a hose clamp to the tailgate hinge.
"It's a deterrent so they would have to take that hose clamp off before they could just pop the tailgate off," Kendrick said.
You can also try backing up your truck as close as possible to the garage or house, or purchase a tailgate lock specifically designed for your truck.
"I did order a new tailgate. We're going to put some anti-theft on that, going to put alarms on all our cars and then put up some security cameras as well," Kendrick said.
While Texas remains the top state for tailgate thefts, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the number of insured stolen tailgates has declined slightly in the last year.
"Like we always say, stuff happens but there's nothing worse than a thief. You work hard for the stuff you get. It doesn't take much for somebody to take it away from you," Kendrick said.