Gutted Meals on Wheels van turns up abandoned in Seattle smelling like marijuana

The Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels has its missing van back but it’s been gutted and damaged.

The white 1998 van turned up in a Seattle parking lot last week after someone swiped it from the agency’s Fowler Street parking lot in mid-November, said Grant Baynes, the executive director of Senior Life Resources Northwest.

Finding the van was a victory for the nonprofit, which uses it to help feed 600 people each day from Prosser to Pasco. They worried insurance would only cover about $1,000 of the $48,000 replacement cost.

But the thieves tore out the oven and four coolers used to transport food, and spray-painted the windows and the logo on the side. They also pasted paper over the windows.

Replacing the equipment inside is expected to cost about $5,800, according to the organization’s Facebook page.

After smelling the inside of the van, Baynes said the suspects likely were carrying marijuana plants.

The thieves also badly damaged the ignition, which had to be fixed before he could drive it back across the Cascades on Wednesday.

Also, the door locks were broken and the license plates were stolen.

“We certainly need her going,” he said. “She’s probably a year or two from being replaced. Our hope is we’ll get it cleaned up and do the repairs to the ignition.”

Baynes is happy to have the van back, which is the oldest of the fleet of four. It’s a badly needed back up in case another van needs repairs.

The nonprofit is asking anyone who may have found the coolers or oven to call 509-735-1911.