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YORK COUNTY – York County Sheriff Paul Vrbka is asking for farmers and residents in the rural areas of the county to keep an eye out for suspicious people, suspicious vehicles and suspicious activity as there has been an escalation of thefts of copper wires from pivots.
“Well, it’s early spring and we’ve already had two thefts of copper wire,” Sheriff Vrbka said. “The good news is that we’ve solved one of those cases, as the thief was caught selling off stolen copper at a salvage yard in Iowa. But we are also hearing how they are investigating a number of these types of theft in Lancaster County right now as well.
“I remember, how back in 2015, we got hit really hard with copper wire thefts here, as we had about 20 of them from pivots,” Sheriff Vrbka said. “It’s really important for people in the rural area – if you see a vehicle, which doesn’t seem to belong out there – and you feel something is suspicious, try to get a license plate number and notify us right away.
“I remember, how in the past, people saw suspicious vehicles but didn’t tell us for a few days, so the thieves got away,” Sheriff Vrbka said. “But when people called us right away and we head right out, right away, we were able to catch them and get convictions.
“So if you see a vehicle that just doesn’t seem to belong in your area of the county, out in the country, try to jot down the information and give us a call as soon as possible,” the sheriff continued. “Copper prices are really high right now and it looks like thieves are trying to capitalize on that.”
