Freehold Township Police have confirmed that a backhoe was stolen from a local construction site near the Howell border in December.

The backhoe was taken from a construction site on the corner of Jackson Mills Road and Elton Adelphia Road in Freehold Township between Dec. 5 and Dec. 19, 2012.

According to Detective Sgt. Jerry Kiwit of the Freehold Township Police, it took over a week to report the vehicle stolen because it had to be confirmed that the backhoe was not just moved to another site.

Freehold Township police are leading the investigation, but at this time have no leads on the stolen backhoe.