Little Debbie truck burned in West Virginia, and outraged snack fans demand justice

A Little Debbie truck was set on fire in West Virginia, and fan outrage has sent social media into overdrive with calls for justice and retribution.

It happened April 28 in the town of Parkersburg, about 80 miles north of Charleston, and arson investigators say the entire inventory of the truck was lost.

That means Fudge Rounds, Oatmeal Creme Pies, Zebra Cakes and — heavens no! — Swiss Rolls.

An arrest was announced Thursday by police, but that has done little to ease the momentum of anger and conspiracy theories of a snack heist cover up.

“This is a hate crime,” Joshua Yoder wrote on Facebook.

“Mom, apple pie, Chevrolet...and this moron sets fire to a truckload of Little Debbies? How unAmerican!” Rodney Wilson said.

“Legit. This is bothering me. Little Debbies are ... wholesome,” Joshua Akaran Smith posted.

The engine compartment of the snack truck had clearly been set on fire, and clues eventually led investigators to a suspect who lives around the corner from the crime scene, police said.

A search warrant found evidence “believed to be related to the fire,” officials said.

Chad Michael Wilson was charged with third-degree arson in connection with the fire, and bond was set at $50,000, officials said.

Investigators did not provide an estimate for the lost truck and snacks.

Tennessee-based Little Debbie, a division of McKee Foods Corporation, offers 75 varieties of snacks and they’re sold in all 50 states, according to its website.

“More than 157 billion Little Debbie snacks have been sold since the brand first launched in 1960,” McKee Foods spokesman Mike Gloekler told McClatchy News. “If you lined up all those snacks, they would be long enough to reach the moon and back over 41 times.”

This story was originally published May 7, 2021 at 3:28 PM with the headline "Little Debbie truck burned in West Virginia, and outraged snack fans demand justice."