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PLEASANT GROVE -- Copper thefts are again on the rise, but a theft in Utah County Tuesday night involved much more. In addition to stealing copper, the thieves just stole the truck it was loaded on.
The truck was found in American Fork Wednesday afternoon, but the copper wire was long gone.
This isn't the first time metal thieves have targeted the Rocky Mountain Power yard in Pleasant Grove. But this time, they plowed a truck carrying the wire through the fence.
The yard is located along near 900 North Geneva Road, and when a police officer drove by about 5:30 Wednesday morning, he saw a chain-link fence with barbed wire that had a giant hole in it.
As the officer investigated, company management discovered that a 2 ton flatbed truck with a small crane on it was missing, along with a trailer hitched to it that had a spool of both copper and aluminum wire.
It's unclear right now if the keys were left in the truck or if the thief hot-wired it. Regardless, it is the latest of several wire thefts from this facility in recent weeks.
"We've had numerous thefts there of copper wire being stolen, and at this point we don't have any leads," said Pleasant Grove police Sgt. Carl Nielson.
Rocky Mountain Power acknowledged its facilities have been targeted by thieves after copper wire. Officials there say it becomes a persistent problem as the price of metal goes up, but they say they have had some success in working with police to prosecute the thieves.
Police are now processing the truck for possible evidence.
E-mail: spenrod@ksl.com
