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Texas man tracking 'filthy thief' who stole pricey custom bootsSAINT JO, Texas (AP)--One of the most renowned boot makers in Texas said "a varmint," a "low-life scum" or "a filthy thief" is responsible for swiping a pair of award-winning cowboy boots worth $10,000. Carl Chappell made the boots, which won an award at the 2003 Boot and Saddle Makers Trade Show Roundup. He said the boots were the most valuable pair in the store until someone walked away with them. A man in his 20s walked into Trail Town Custom Leather in early August wearing a pair of tennis shoes but walked out clad in the valuable boots, said John Glaze, an apprentice to the craftsman who made the boots. Glaze said he answered some of the man's questions about having his boots repaired, but got distracted by a phone call. Then he noticed the man exiting the store, tennis shoes in hand and the custom-made boots on his feet. "By the time I made it to the door, he was already going around the corner," Glaze said. "And by the time I got to the corner, he was in his white pickup driving away toward Forestburg." These are no ordinary boots, Glaze said. The hand-tooled leather tops feature scenes of busting broncos and a cattle drive. The boots have green full-quill ostrich bottoms, with additional hand-tooling on the heels and soles. As boots go, the missing pair is well known. It appeared in boot books, magazines and on the cover of the specialty publication Shop Talk, which covered the 2003 Roundup in Wichita Falls. Chappell and Glaze have pinned up reward posters along U.S. Highway 82 and posted notices on custom cowboy boot websites. They reckon a $1,000 reward might be enough to entice a posse to go after the thief. "What we're hoping is one of his scumbag friends will hear about it and say, 'Hmm, a $1,000 reward,' and turn him in," Glaze said. The poster says, "Anyone wanting to turn this piece of trash in should contact the Saint Jo PD at 940-995-2337." Date: 9/4/07
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