Copper and robbers: Who stole 11 tons of wire?

Investigators are hoping that thieves who made off with tons of copper in an overnight heist in Hutchinson, Minn., will discover they have perhaps too much of a good thing.

You have to find a way to sell the stuff, after all, police Sgt. Joe Nagel said Tuesday.

In this case, the goods consist of 22,000 pounds of copper telephone wire, wrapped around 20 5-foot-high spools, taken overnight Jan. 2 from the Hutchinson Telephone Co. A Hutchinson scrap yard manager puts the value of the copper at about $39,600.

Nagel said the presence of traceable numbers on the spools and on the black insulation that coats the wire offers hope for a breakthrough in the case. But he added that it's possible, too, that the heist could be the work of a larger copper-theft ring.

While it is too soon to know whether a broader enterprise was at work, Nagel said, "I think they are organized, and I think they know what they are doing."

He has heard, he said, of rings in North Dakota and elsewhere.

Nationally, copper-theft rings have been busted in Maine, Florida, West Virginia and other states, and one has been suspected of operating in Sheboygan County, Wis.

In Minnesota, much of the coverage surrounding copper thefts has focused on the Twin Cities area, where the stripping of copper pipe from vacant houses has caused at least four explosions in Minneapolis and six gas leaks in St. Paul since late November.

The Hutchinson theft occurred the night of Jan. 2-3 in an industrial park where the telephone company has its warehouse Nagel said. The wire was stored outdoors.

He said the thieves most likely needed a large truck and trailer, plus a boom or a winch to lift the spools aboard.

Pat Boll, office manager of Hutchinson Iron & Metal Inc., said she and other scrap yard operators were notified of the theft Jan. 3, and have been on the lookout for what's known in the trade as "No. 1 Copper," known for its bright and shiny quality.

Investigators have visited scrap yards in a 60-mile radius, too, Nagel said.

Still no luck, he added. As large as it was, the heist probably is forcing the thieves to break the wire into smaller increments, Nagel said. It has raised the question, too: Biggest theft of its kind in Minnesota?

To that, Nagel would say only: "It's a record I'd rather not have."

Staff librarian Linda Scheimann contributed to this report.

Anthony Lonetree • 612-673-4455 • alonetree@startribune.com