VINELAND – Some unidentified thieves escaped a crime scene Sunday night using a very slow getaway vehicle, according to police.

A manager for Tractor Supply Company on South Delsea Drive called police Monday morning to report one of the store's orange Bad Boy Zero Turn 26-horsepower lawnmowers with a 48-inch cutting deck had been stolen.

He showed the responding officer the surveillance footage from the previous night.

It showed two men wearing all black walk up to the mower, which was parked in front of the building on the west side of the business, at 11:12 p.m.

The thieves illuminated their actions with a small silver flashlight, and using bolt cutters snipped a yellow cable that was keeping the mower locked in place. They then disconnected the alarm wire.

One of the men hopped aboard the Bad Boy and drove off in a southbound direction, according to police.

The officer determined the thieves were familiar with the camera placement because they came in a vehicle they kept parked just out of camera view and shined its headlights on the lawnmowers. A sliver of the vehicle's taillights was briefly visible, but did not allow the officer to identify the vehicle.

The thieves left behind the silver flashlight they had used, which was collected as evidence.

The officer guessed that due to the limited amount of gasoline in the lawnmower, the driver must have taken it to a rendezvous a short distance away where it was loaded onto either a truck or trailer. It would have been too heavy for only two men to lift.

The manager said the mower was worth $3,499.

Police did not name any suspects today.