Risk-Taking Thieves Steal Scrap Metal
WINDBER, Pa. -- Police in Somerset County are trying to figure out how a radio tower went missing in Windber. Police say a group of people had a very thorough plan to get all 120 feet of steel and copper down from the old Windber radio tower.
Police believe the thieves threw cables over the guidelines of the tower and yanked it down with a truck. Police also found cut bolts and torch marks on nearby grass. Police say the tower had to be cut into small pieces in order to get it out of the wooded area, but they can't figure out how they did it without anybody noticing.
"There's probably a half a dozen routes that come in and out of that area. At least 20 four-wheelers and ATV riders go through there a day," said Paint Township Police Chief Rick Skiles.
The thieves also got away with a 300-pound Penelec transformer full of copper.
The radio tower hasn't been used for years, but the family who owns it was in talks with a company to use the tower to bring wireless Internet to Windber.
"There was an Internet company that approached my son. That's all gone now, so what're you going to do? He lost a good bit of money," said Jay Shaffer.
The Shaffer family is offering a $1,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest. The police chief said convicted could face felony charges.
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