Driver of "The Crapster" relieved about soapbox's recovery

A 7-foot-tall toilet that was swiped from a Seattle parking lot earlier this month after competing in a local soapbox derby race was found Wednesday in a rural King County field.

The white commode with a blue velour seat, outfitted with tires and seating for one inside the bowl, was in a truck that was reported stolen on Oct. 1. The truck was found several days later, but the soapbox-derby racer, nicknamed "The Crapster," was gone.

A group of co-workers at Hewlett Packard in Colorado Springs, Colo., spent 25 days building their first soapbox-derby entry. On Sept. 29 the toilet finished the Red Bull Soapbox Race in Fremont in 75 seconds and was awarded second in crowd-favorite entries.

Tom Valentine, driver of The Crapster, was shocked that the toilet was found with minimal damage. He and teammates are deciding whether to pay nearly $800 to have it shipped back to Colorado.

"The police said they found it out in a field covered with a blue tarp," Valentine said. "I'm surprised they found it. I was thinking if they found it, it would be all beat up and at the bottom of a lake."

King County sheriff's Deputy Carol Neely was on routine patrol in the 18600 block of Southeast Lake Young's Road in unincorporated King County when she spotted the commode. Valentine said he heard The Crapster caused quite a scene when it was towed back to the Maple Valley precinct.

"They took it back to the police station to hold it and a lot of police officers were posing to take personal pictures with it," Valentine said.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com