February 5, 2003
White Salmon, WA

Desperate for FUEL

There are several ways to get your hands on one of the new 2003 Slingshot kites. One, be patient and stand in line at your local surf shop to place an order. Two, pray you run into Jeff Tobias at the beach and he generously feels like giving up one of his 15 kites to you. Or three, steal one foolishly. Not without consequences, it seems the latter has been the most popular and desperate measure to get their hands on a Slingshot kite.

Two separate incidents took place in the Gorge recently where Slingshot kites were stolen from vehicles and attempted to be sold at Portland’s All Surf Industry (A.S.I.) surf shop.

Tomash Pudil of West Lynn, Oregon, parked his 2001 Chevy Express Van in a remote area near beach access on the Columbia River. After a couple hours of kiting with his buddies, Tomash returned to his side window smashed and his Slingshot 8m, 12m, and 16m as well as a Slingshot board snatched.

A separate incident occurred in downtown Portland, where the thief broke the rear window of Ty Kazebee’s car, snatching his Fuel 10 and 14.

After both incidents, the kite bandits brought the stolen Slingshot gear into A.S.I. looking to sell. Suspicious that the kites were stolen, A.S.I. owner Mark Felter made some calls, including one to the police, and Operation Kite Sting was in action. Felter called back the kite thieves to come back to A.S.I and pick up their cash in separate sting operations. Upon their arrival, Portland police stormed the kite criminals from the back of the store, making arrests.