Caledonia police are asking for the public's help find the suspect who stole $700 worth of wiring from a We Energies substation sometime in the last week and may have been suffered a shock in the process.
Detectives took a report Thursday that 66 conductors comprised of 27 strands in lengths of two to four feet were stolen sometime between May 23 and May 30 from the substation at 4735 N. Green Bay Road.
All together, the strands - or whips - weigh over 100 pounds and are worth more than $700.
The suspect who made off with the copper cut their way in through a chain-link fence. While cutting out the whips, the breakers, pole-off structures and a main transformer sustained substantial damage.
Caledonia Detective Melissa Stardy advised in a press release that whomever committed the theft may have been shocked because one conductor was left behind "with all but one whip cut."
More, the suspect also may have defecated at the scene and used a purple, knit glove to clean themselves. Those samples have been sent to the state crime lab for DNA analysis.
"This same location was hit two weeks ago when 12 to 14 whips were cut off," Stardy wrote in a press release.
She is contacting NEWPRS (Northeastern Wisconsin Property Reporting System), the electronic database that tracks purchases and sales and pawn shops, salvage yards and resale shops.
Pawn shops, salvage yards and resale stores are required by state statute, Stardy explained, to fill out paperwork related to who is doing the buying or selling, the date and time of the transaction, how much was bought or sold and for how much money.
"Sometimes they even have photos to go with the information so that is very helpful," she added.
Kathy Schultz, spokesperson for We Energies, confirmed that thefts like this do happen, but that if the suspect was shocked, they could have suffered a significant injury.
"Those shocks can be fatal," she said. "But we have seen a reduction overall of these types of thefts because as we increase and improve security, they happen less frequently."
It does not appear that any customers lost power as a result of the theft.
CPD is asking if other communities have experienced similar thefts, to contact them at (262) 835-4423.
Anyone with any information is asked to leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at (888) 636-9330, email:http://racine.crimestoppersweb.com, or text message: RACS to 274637 (CRIMES).
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