COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — A thief caused several thousand dollars in damage at a Rocky Mountain Power substation Sunday while extracting copper from a barbed wire fence, police report.
At about 4 a.m. Sunday, a Rocky Mountain Power security guard discovered the damage and missing copper after he was tipped off by an alarm, said Cottonwood Heights Police Sgt. Scott Peck.
"The value of the stolen copper wasn't much but the damage it did was crazy," Peck said.
In the process of extracting four, inch-thick copper wires up to eight-feet long, the thief caused $5,000-10,000 in damage, Peck said.
Peck said it's unusual to see such thick wire cut and he wasn't sure what tool was used to make the cut.
Peck said police don't have any suspects and the theft is still being investigated.