(La Porte County, IN) - About 1,200 feet of copper wiring was stripped from an irrigation system at a La Porte County farm.

 

A La Porte County Police officer on Friday was dispatched to the area of 1150 West and 800 South between Westville and Wanatah.

 

Police said a farmer reported he turned on the irrigation system consisting of six sections but no water came out.  He contacted a repairman who discovered the wires had been cut and stolen from each of the sections on the southwest corner of the field.

 

Whoever was behind the heist left behind a 15 foot long stretch of wire found on the ground near one of the stripped crop watering towers, police said.

 

Police said the theft happened sometime after the irrigation system was last used about a week prior to the discovery.

 

The cost of repairs was estimated at $2,000.

 

A rash of copper wire thefts from irrigation systems just before spring happened in St. Joseph and La Porte counties.

 

In general, La Porte County Police Capt. Derek Allen said irrigation systems are prone to thieves wanting copper wire to sell for scrap because they’re often in isolated locations and not used sometime for long durations.

 

Allen said it happens enough that some farmers have surveillance cameras near irrigators to help catch thieves if they strike in their fields.

 

He described such thefts in La Porte County as happening more “sporadically” than on a regular basis.