Owner of stolen truck says his ‘heart breaks’ for the 4-year-old boy left behind

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — We are hearing for the first time from the owner of a stolen truck that led police on a chase through Pierce, King and Snohomish counties Sunday.

The driver finally ditched the F 550 in South Seattle. But he left behind his girlfriend and young son. The truck’s owner says that’s what hurt most.

“Bill Murphy says he had to see his old truck. And as you might guess, it didn’t look anything like it did. In fact, he thinks it was being used as a home.

“It was a pain in the butt.”

That is how Bill Murphy describes his reaction when he came out and discovered his prized F 550, his only vehicle for his landscaping business, had been stolen right in front of his Bothell house last June.

“I never thought I would see it again,” Murphy said.

But see it again, he did, along with the rest of us. Because this truck he owned for five years ended up on I-5 Sunday morning, in the middle of a high-speed chase through Pierce, King and Snohomish counties. Washington State Patrol had to put out spike strips to stop the pursuit.

Still, he drove off I-5 and finally ditched the vehicle in South Seattle, leaving behind his girlfriend and their 4-year-old son.

She was asked what happened. “My son’s father was, yeah,” her voice trailed off, as a trooper yelled to her not to talk. Then she said, “no comment.”

Murphy says he went to see his old truck Monday just to see what condition it’s in now.

He was asked if anything could be salvaged from the truck.

“I found a couple of my wrenches, he said. “And that was about it. I’m assuming he had stolen my stuff right out of the gate. But there was a lot of stolen probably from several other people. Yeah, it was a mess. They were actually living in it.”

And that, says Murphy, hurts more than anything he might have lost when his truck was stolen.

“I really feel sorry for that, for that young boy,” Murphy said. “I mean that just breaks your heart. I mean being raised, being around that situation, it just breaks your heart.”

As for the suspect, detectives tell us he has a long history of stealing vehicles. They know his name because his son told them. But he remains on the loose.

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