Monroe Chat

by **Tracy** » Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:38:46 GMT

Police looking for manhole cover thieves
By Danielle Wilson, Staff Writer
Updated 6:47 PM Thursday, July 9, 2009
MIDDLETOWN — Manhole covers are vanishing from the streets of Middletown, according to police.

At least 40 covers have been taken from the neighborhoods surrounding Mayfield Elementary School — and part of the east end of town — in the past few weeks, said Middletown police Detective Rich Bush.

“You can imagine how much these would cost to replace,” Bush said, adding the thefts could create road hazards.

A Cohen Brothers retail scale worker estimated the value of the scrap metal at about $6 altogether. Manholes weigh about 250 pounds and are worth about 4 cents per pound, said Rob McGee.

Police have not had any leads on who is taking the covers — mostly taken during daylight hours.

Anyone with information on the thefts is asked to call Bush at (513) 425-7720 with a vehicle description, license plate number and description of the thief or thieves.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2511 or dwilson@coxohio.com.

by **ADH** » Sat, 11 Jul 2009 16:01:20 GMT

Weird...

by **kolby** » Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:00:27 GMT

I've heard of this happening in other cities. Seem to remember certain ones getting hit last summer.....but I do not remember where exactly. It's crazy that they'd steal these heavy pieces of metal, that are worth little money and create a hazard for others.

Not sure if they could do something similar for these manhole covers, but some areas are painting copper tubing. If a metal scrapper is caught with it, they face huge fines. Again, I do not recall where this was occurring. I see and read a lot of news (especially with the traveling).