It’s used all over the country for concerts and performances. The owner of a mobile stage said thieves drove off with his property last month, and he needs help finding it.
It’s more than just a stage – Aaron Gebauer says it’s how he does business. Last month, a theft in the middle of the night set his business back.
“It’s everything, we’re a one-stop shop because of it,” Gebauer said. “This stage is not just a stage; it’s a $300,000 investment, so instead of buying a new house, we bought a stage to do business with.”
Gebauer is the president of Blueseed AVL, a stage, audio, visual and lighting company based in Wyoming. He said he brought an APEX 3224 mobile stage down to South Florida last month so a friend could use it for a show.
“Probably see them all over Miami, it’s the most used stage around,” Gebauer said.
Gebauer’s stage was parked at his friend’s business in northwest Miami-Dade. Two weeks ago, someone drove into the parking lot and stole it. Gebauer was thousands of miles away, back in Wyoming.
“They started it right up, moved the hydraulics around, backed right up to it and pulled it out and drove away with it,” Gebauer said. “I laughed, I was like, there’s no way, I thought my guy was screwing with me.”
He quickly found out it wasn’t a joke. Now Gebauer is trying to figure out how to move forward.
“Now I need to come up with the money to pay for a new stage right away to cover shows we have in two weeks,” Gebauer said.
He’s remaining hopeful and hopes this theft is a minor setback.
“We’re hoping they find out who it is,” Gebauer said. “Whether or not our stage is still here, I figure somebody probably tried to paint it and reuse it or ship it out of the country.”
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office is investigating.
