This definitely qualifies as one of those “Didja hear about the sorry scumbags who stole …” stories that will make you shake your head.

An unmarked utility trailer with a UTV and gear inside used for disabled veterans’ hunting trips was stolen in South Lyon, Mich. It had a Polaris six-person UTV worth $13,800 inside (the trailer was worth $4,000).

Thieves took it between July 3 and 5, according to this report in the Detroit Free Press. The UTV was used by volunteers with Operation Injured Soldiers, a group that helps take wounded veterans hunting and outdoors.

Loran Symonds, 44, who injured his back lifting bombs onto Harrier jets in Baghdad, Iraq, and Bahrain during Operation Desert Storm, calls the outings “therapy.” He describes the theft as “like walking up and spitting in someone’s face.”

“Vietnam veterans, those guys aren’t able to walk long distances,” he told the newspaper. “(Soldiers) who are returning now who had it a lot worse than what I did — with all the IEDs — they’re coming home with missing limbs. So this thing was like a lifeline. For someone to steal that, it’s unbelievable.”

Operation Injured Soldiers officials hope the thieves realize once they see the UTV’s decals what they took and will return or abandon the vehicle and trailer. The trailer did not have decals but the Polaris UTV did.

If you have any information that can lead to the return of the gear to the organization and the arrest of the criminals, contact Operation Injured Soldiers at this link: click here.

Read the full story here.