"They took everything they could carry. Our toolboxes were empty, not even a screwdriver left behind," is the way Lehigh Tire-Tamaqua Manager Marie Morgan describes the burglary that took place late Saturday into early Sunday morning.

The burglary at the business, located on Route 309 at the northern edge of Tamaqua, was discovered at 7:20 a.m. Sunday, when mechanic Charlie Franz just happened to be driving by his place of employment."I just glanced over, a habit, when I saw a garage bay door was open and the lights were on. I knew right away that someone must have broken in, as there are a limited number of keys to the door and none of the keyholders would have been there that early," explains Franz.He did a quick search and called police.Entry was made at the rear of the building by prying open a door to the compressor room. Once inside, the burglars chopped a 2-foot hole in the cinder block wall and gained entrance to the garage bays.They then collected "whatever they could carry, including a diagnostic computer and the employees' personal tools," says Morgan. In addition to tens of thousands of dollars in tools, the burglars ripped a first aid cabinet from the wall and emptied the shelves of items such as motor oil and filters.They then exited through a front garage bay door, possibly making their getaway in a light color, older model Jeep Cherokee.A window on the east wall of the building was smashed, possibly in an initial attempt to enter the building. Metal bars prohibited the thieves from entering that way.A bright spot in the otherwise gloomy theft was the response from neighboring businesses."The other garages around here have been extremely supportive, lending us all types of tools so we can continue to offer service to our customers. They can't just lend us a $3,700 diagnostic tool, but they've been amazingly helpful, lending us what they can. A complete inventory is underway, in between conducting business as usual, or a kind of usual," says Morgan.Neighboring business All American Jeep was also targeted by the thieves, who made off with various car parts from the vehicles on the dealership's parking lot, but did not gain entry to the garage and offices.Anyone with information is asked to contact Tamaqua Police at 570-668-5000.