Stolen Caterpillar front-end loader recovered

A $100,000 Caterpillar front-end loader stolen from a Spokane Valley job site at some point during Memorial Day weekend was found Wednesday afternoon not far from where it was taken. The 40,000-pound piece of equipment was stolen from a project site in the 16100 block of East Broadway Ave. It was found parked on a residential street in the 2300 block of South Carnine Court. The thief drove the 2006 938-G loader through an east side security fence, a news release from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said. The owner of the company working at the site on Broadway rented a helicopter on Tuesday to search for the machine but could not find it. The manager said the machine was locked but that a universal Caterpillar key could have been used to steal it.