what sort of gangs/groups are doing this in alabama (from mississippi so assuming it is probably pretty similar at home)?
Some of them have been caught and the culprits were redneck trash types.
Some of the stuff has been found, for instance my old four wheel drive farm truck has been stolen and recovered twice. My brother in law's 97 F150 was stolen then recovered...sheriff didn't even call him to tell him it had been recovered...he happened to see it sitting in the impound lot. ATVs and other stuff have not been recovered.