The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating thefts of cable that belongs to AT&T and Spectrum. The thefts happened in the Dittmer and Hillsboro areas. In addition, five AT&T cables boxes and some other cable were damaged, officials reported.
The thefts and damage occurred between Nov. 14 and Nov. 21, when a total of about 2,830 feet of cable was stolen. The cost to replace the stolen wire and to repair the damages was estimated at about $36,000, the report said.
The initial thefts occurred Nov. 14, where about 1,500 feet of cable that belongs to AT&T was cut from poles between the 8900 and 9100 blocks of Old Hwy. 21 south of Hillsboro, and about 200 feet of AT&T cable was cut off poles in the 7400 block of Hwy. 30 northwest of Hillsboro. That approximately 1,700 feet of cable was valued at about $10,000, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
At about 3 a.m. Nov. 20, Spectrum was notified about outages in an area north of Hillsboro and discovered about 300 feet of fiber optic wire was damaged in the 4800 block of Glade Chapel Road. Spectrum said about 30 feet of the wire had been stolen, and the stolen wire and cost to repair the damage is estimated at about $25,000, the report said.
On Nov. 21, the Sheriff’s Office was notified about damage to five AT&T utility boxes along Goldman and Jarvis roads and wire damage near the intersection of Old Hwy. 21 and Fort Hill Road north of Hillsboro, the report said.
About 1,000 feet of cable and fiber optic wire were stolen from the damaged utility boxes, and about 100 feet of wire was damage at the intersection. As of Nov. 23, the Sheriff’s Office had not been contacted by AT&T to determine if any wire had been stolen from near the intersection of Old Hwy. 21 and Fort Hill Road, according to the report.
An estimated value for the cable and wire stolen from along side Goldman and Jarvis roads was not reported, and the cost to repair the damaged wire near the intersection of Old Hwy. 21 and Fort Hill Road was estimated at about $1,000, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
As of Nov. 23, none of the cable or wire had been recovered, and no suspects had been identified, spokesman Grant Bissell said. Anyone with information about the incidents should call the Sheriff’s Office at 636-797-5515.