At 11:57 p.m. last Tuesday, a man reported to Merrill police that a male had stolen his motorcycle.
According to a police report, the caller had listed the motorcycle for sale on craigslist.com. A man contacted him interested in purchasing it. They made arrangements to meet and the potential buyer was allowed to take it for a test drive. The man had not returned after an hour and was not responding to text messages.
The caller did not know the man or his name. The man arrived on foot and was allegedly dropped off by his girlfriend.
The phone number the man had been using to text with the caller returned from Missouri. Further investigation showed the last known user of that number was deceased. It is believed the number is a spoofed number.
The motorcycle was entered as stolen and surrounding agencies notified.
The motorcycle is a 1997 red Honda and had no license plates. The suspect is described as being a white male wearing a ripped blue sweatshirt, baggy pants and shoes with green laces, and having tattoos on his neck and forearm.
If you have information about this crime, call Crime Stoppers at 715-536-3726. Callers can remain anonymous and may qualify for a reward.