A tyre was bolted to a fence post on Glencoe Highway in a memorial to Damien Mountney, near where he died.
There it sat until the fifth anniversary of his death last week when it was cut down and stolen in the night.
His son Dylan Mountney said it would have been hard for the culprits not to know what they were stealing.
"There’s a memorial sticker — his name is engraved on it. They knew what they were doing. You can’t tell it’s a memorial.
Mr Mountney said the tyre had no worth beyond the sentimental value to friends and family of his father.
"The tyre’s buggered. It’s got holes in it."
Mr Mountney now lives in Perth and said the incident stung him.
"It’s pretty gutless really, pretty rough. I felt a bit hopeless," he said.
Mr Mountney said he only wanted the thieves to do the right thing.
"Imagine how you’d feel if it was your family, you know? Imagine if the shoes were on your feet. Just put it back," he said.
Mr Mountney posted about the tyre being stolen on Facebook, and the community took notice, with hundreds of reactions and shares.
Family friend Aaron Stevenson was the creator of the memorial, and said it was a gutless move to target a memorial.
"They would have had to take a grinder to get it off. It was bolted and welded — they’ve gone to a lot of trouble to get it off.
"I’m totally disappointed. It’s all just a bit next level. I don’t understand how people can do that.
Mr Stevenson said the theft was a disgusting act.
"It’s been up there for five years. It’s terrible. It’s like going around and stealing gravestones — how can you do it?"
Mr Stevenson said the memorial was well-known and beloved by the trucking community.
"Damien was involved in trucking. I would go down and mow the lawns and every time a truck went past they’d toot their horns.
"They knew what it was for, it was an icon remembering Damien," he said.
Mr Stevenson said although he was furious, he believed Mr Mountney would simply have wanted the tyre back so good-natured was he.
"You’d class him as an icon or a legend of Gore. He was one of those guys that everyone loved.
"Even the guy who stole it, he’d forgive him. He’s that type of guy. He’d go, ‘you friggin’ idiot. You shouldn’t have done that’, and that’s how he’d roll. He wouldn’t make a big song and dance about it," he said.
Mr Stevenson said he would just be happy for the tyre to be returned.
"Even if you just leave it on the side of the road, I’ll just go and put it back up. And if all else fails, I’ll put another one up," he said.
