Baldwin ? Ken Wagner has lost track of how many people have been arrested during the past five years for stealing farm equipment from his business.

“It’s got to be in excess of 20,” said Wagner, who owns Heritage Tractor Inc., 915 Industrial Park Road at the east edge of Baldwin.

Add four more suspects to that list.

Overnight Friday and into early Saturday, Baldwin Police interrupted thieves after they loaded two lawn tractors onto a rental truck, Police Chief Mike McKenna said.

He described a series of events that began late Friday when police saw a suspicious car leave the area near the business but found nothing wrong.

About midnight, after police received a report of suspicious activity in the area, an officer discovered the rental truck while another officer saw a van leaving the area and stopped it as it headed east on U.S. Highway 56.

The van’s side door opened, and three of the five men in it took off running. The officer was able to hold two men at the van until other officers could arrive.

Calls for assistance went out, and Douglas County Sheriff’s and Lawrence Police officers joined the manhunt. Dogs from the Sheriff’s Office and the Lenexa Police Department were brought in, and the Kansas Highway Patrol sent a helicopter to aid in the search.

Two of the men eventually were spotted in the Black Jack Battlefield area east of Baldwin and arrested hiding in some trees. A fifth man had not been found by Saturday night.

The four suspects were taken to the Douglas County Jail and might be charged Monday, McKenna said. Their ages range from 30 to 58, all are from Missouri and all have extensive criminal records, McKenna said.

Police also learned the rental van that was to be used to haul the lawn tractors had been reported stolen in Independence, Mo.

“This was outstanding work by all of the law enforcement officers out there,” McKenna said. “I’m extremely pleased.”

So was Wagner.

“They (police) converged on that place out there right away,” Wagner said.

Investigators Saturday afternoon were examining security surveillance equipment at Heritage Tractor, Wagner said.

The business’s location along a busy highway makes it an inviting target, Wagner said.

“It’s the nature of the business,” Wagner said of selling farm equipment. “It’s easily fenced. We’ve caught people who have had shopping lists showing what they were looking for.”