The Case of the Lonely Truck.

By: George


Before posting some more controversial topics, I want to discuss something that has been frustrating me for about a year.


More than likely you are aware that writing for Blogs is not my full time employment.  I work for a major hospital in New Jersey, and I commute to work via the railroad.  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) the closest train station to my office is about 2.5 miles away.  So I have been walking from the station to the office, weather permitting.  I have been doing this for over a year and a half, and it’s great exercise.


My walking path in the mornings takes me through a few areas that are warehouses with loading docks, constantly frequented by tractor trailers.  One day it occurred to me that there was a certain trailer truck that was parked flush up against an abandoned building, which I have been walking past for a few months.  I kept checking on this truck daily,


and when the truck hasn’t moved from the spot for about four months, I decided to check into it.  

I jotted down the plate number and some other pertinent information about the truck, and then tried to contact the owners, because I figured that someone has lost track of this particular rig. 


I tried to do a search of the license plate on the web, but I wasn't successful.  There is a D.O.T number on the side of the cab, so I called the D.O.T.(Department of Transportation) to see if they could notify the owner, but they wouldn’t do it.  They told me to call the local police.


I tried to call the owners, but couldn’t find any trace of the company that is posted on the side of the cab. 


O.K., time to talk to the police.  I spotted a police cruiser on the side of the road one morning, so I related to the officer what I have been trying to do, and asked if he could run the plates and notify the owners.  He told me that since the truck was in Calstadt, NJ and his jurisdiction is East Rutherford, he couldn’t do anything and I should contact the Carlstadt police.


A few days later I saw a Carlstadt PD cruiser and repeated my request to the officer.  He took notes with all the information and promised to look into it.  I smiled to myself, and felt that I have done my good deed for the day.  

When the truck was still there the next day, I figured that it might take a few days to get it returned to the proper owners.  About a month later when it was still there, I decided to take some more steps.  I remembered that my cellphone has a built-in camera, so I snapped some pictures.  

There was a phone number on the back of the trailer, so as I walked along I called the number and told my story to the person on the other end.  She informed me that indeed this used to be their trailer, but just before the time when I started seeing the truck, they had sold it to MTCarrier, the company that is displayed on the side.  She wouldn't reveal their phone number, and as I mentioned before, I couldn't find it anywhere.

O.K., now was the time to escalate the search.  I called the Carlstadt, NJ Police Department, related my story, and was given the name and email of an Officer to email the info to.  Great!  I sent all the photos off, along with a satellite map of the neighborhood, showing the location of the rig.  No response, no questions, and a month later the truck is still there.

Fine.... I called the local  office of the Bergen Record newspaper, and finally got to talk to the reporter who would handle this.  I repeated my story, I emailed the reporter everything that I had sent to the Police Department.  I asked him to get back to me when he found out the full story of the truck and he said that he would. No response, no questions, and at this point over a year later, the truck is still there.

But there is something NEW.  When I look at Google Maps and zoom in on the location of the truck using the Satellite Image, the truck can be seen.  Since the Satellite Images are not updated too frequently, you have actual proof of how long this truck has been parked there.

Let me zoom out a little so you can see the exact location of the truck, and then I will ask my readers for some help.

I don't know what else to do.  Someone out there is missing a truck.  Is there anyone out there who might have some idea how to track down the owners?  If you have any questions that I may not have touched upon, please comment to me and I will respond.

However, if nobody wants this 18 wheeler that is still in perfect condition, I have first dibs on it.