A man reportedly broke into the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center over the weekend and stole the keys to two of the Newhall nonprofit's meal-delivery trucks, wrecking one he used a battering ram to knock down the center's security gate and driving off with another.

The theft, and the damage caused in the process, cost the center an estimated $63,000, said Brad Berens, the nonprofit's executive director.

It also left the center's nine-truck meal-delivery fleet short two. The trucks bring food to elderly people who are too sick or disabled to cook for themselves.

"They're stealing from the seniors, and most of the folks we serve depend on our help," Berens said Monday outside the center. "It's not even one of the vehicles you'd think a thief would be after."

Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies were looking for the missing truck, a white 2008 Ford Ranger with a food storage unit mounted on the back, painted with the words "SCV Senior Center." It had a California exempt license plate, number 1310531.

At least seven other meal-delivery trucks are still in operation.

The break-in happened about 6:20 a.m. Sunday. Berens received a call about that time from his alarm company and rushed to the center.

He described the crime scene: One of the center's trucks was mangled, with pieces of undercarriage scattered throughout the parking lot. Part of the reinforced chain-link fence surrounding the parking lot had been torn away, and it lay to the side in a twisted heap.

The thief may have cut himself as he pried open the main office's front door - blood was smeared around the doorway.

A few things around the office looked as though they had been rifled through, including a box containing the trucks' keys. A few more smudges of blood marked that box, and a puddle of blood congealed in the cab of the wrecked truck.

A woman who was walking by told investigators she watched a man ram the gate several times with one truck then flee in another. The witness described the thief as a 20-something white man, about 5 feet, 10 inches to 6 feet tall, about 195 pounds with brown hair, said sheriff's Lt. Brenda Cambra.

Anyone with information can call the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station at (661) 255-1121.

Berens said the senior center will recover the financial cost of the theft because the trucks and gate were insured. But the theft has forced volunteers to use sedans that aren't outfitted for food storage or delivery.

"The earthquake didn't slow us down for (the SCV's seniors)," Berens said. "We're not going to let this interfere with the Pony Express."