While the free giveaway and clearing out of the vacant Yard Birds shopping center is ongoing, former tenants are lamenting the loss of possessions stolen from a locked area over the weekend.
The owners of BnT’s American Treasures — which was located in the gated outdoor area on Yard Birds’ northeast corner — sayid their former store was broken into and a trailer was stolen.
BnT’s, a family business, was an estate and retail store cleaning business that had been around nearly four decades, with the past 14 spent at Yard Birds.
It was run by brothers Blake and Cory McDrummond. Blake’s wife, Tana, contacted The Chronicle originally to ask for photos of the trailer to try to help find it.
“We used it for everything. It was old and beat up, but it still worked,” Tana said.
The break-in at BnT’s occurred sometime Saturday morning. Whoever broke in physically unbolted the gate and took it off its hinges. Once the gates were open, people flooded in and took what they pleased.
“Sometime after noon, someone decided they would hook up the trailer and steal it too,” Tana added.
While Yard Birds owner Darris McDaniel started the giveaway to clear out the old mall building as he continues trying to sell it, he was not letting anyone inside Yard Birds itself due to liability concerns. Items are instead being placed along the outside walls of the sprawling structure.
Some of the items in BnT’s were still the McDrummonds’ personal belongings they didn’t have time to remove after Yard Birds’ permanent closure at the end of 2022.
The trailer was legally registered. Tana said a police report has been filed, but she is asking the community for help recovering the trailer.
“It’s a 14-foot dual axle (trailer) with black fenders, 2-by-6 side racks with metal stakes,” Tana said. “It was a rough trailer but we used it every day”
Tana added a reward is being offered to anyone with information leading to the trailer’s recovery. Anyone with information is asked to contact her through her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/tmcdrummond or call 360-402-4191 or 360-402-4311.
The giveaway at Yard Birds continues.
“This is still going on and new items being added every day,” Shop’n Kart, which is also owned by Daniels, wrote in a social media post on Tuesday.
