Jan 10, 2007 10:12 am US/Central
Thieves Take 22,000 Pounds Of Copper Wire
Hutchinson, Minn. (AP) ―
So you've stolen 11 tons of copper wire -- now what do you do with it?
That's the problem facing thieves in Hutchinson, Minn.
Police said someone stole 22,000 pounds of copper telephone wire from outside the Hutchinson Telephone Company last week.
The wire was wrapped around 20, 5-foot-high spools -- each weighing more than 1,000 pounds. The stolen copper is valued at nearly $40,000 dollars.
Hutchinson police Sgt. Joe Nagel said the thieves likely needed a truck and trailer to steal the wire -- as well as a boom or winch to lift the spools.
But Nagel said the thieves may have trouble selling the copper. There are traceable numbers on the spools and on the black insulation that coats the wire, and that may give a break in the case.
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