The theft occurred between 5:30 p.m. Aug. 19, after the park closed for the day, and before 11:30 a.m. Aug. 20, when the park reopened, according to recreation program coordinator Taffy Lowery. The portable park was at that time located on Redwood Middle School's basketball courts.

The park is designed to allow pieces, like ramps and blocks on which skateboarders and Rollerbladers can do tricks, to be stored within a trailer on wheels. But the pieces tend to be heavy, and so skatepark staff members have been just chaining up the pieces at the end of each day rather than putting everything back in the trailer, Lowery said.

Staffers had chained the pieces up at the end of the day Aug. 19, she said. But a thief or, more likely, thieves, sawed through a portion of the chain and removed a skate rail and a grind box. The first item, she said, is about 40 pounds, and the second is heavier, 6 feet long and 2 feet wide, and would take more than one person to move.

She said the culprits were probably familiar with the skatepark, as they knew where it would be located that week, what time it was closed and which pieces to take.

"These were the pieces that most of the kids used," Lowery said. "Unfortunately, the best parts of the skatepark are missing. It's not just like somebody came by--they left two other rails. They had to have known."

Lowery filed a report with the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office Aug. 20, and because the pieces were valued at more than $500, the incident is considered a felony grand theft. Also, Lowery said, the grind box is not available for public purchase and would stand out if noticed.

She's hoping the items will be returned, and she said no contingency plan has yet been developed if they are not. In the meantime, the park will continue to operate after school starts Aug. 28 and be open Fridays after school and Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. It will be located in the city's corporate yard parking lot on Allendale Avenue.

For more information about the park, call 408.868.1248 or 408.868.1249. To provide information about the missing skatepark pieces, call the Sheriff's West Valley Substation, 408.867.9715.