Thieves steal copper wire, company truck from Hertz construction site

LEE COUNTY, Fla.- Authorities are looking for help identifying up to four suspects who hauled more than $20,000 in copper wire off the Hertz construction site in Estero, and stole a Ford box truck in the process.

Detectives say that sometime between the afternoon hours of Sunday, May 24 and mid-day Monday, May 25, a group of unknown suspects trespassed onto the Hertz property, located on the 8500 block of Williams Road.

According to authorities, the suspects stole several large spools of copper wire valued at roughly $20,000.

The men also stole a white truck belonging to Gatewood Glass, one of the contractors working at the construction site.

The suspects fled the area in the stolen Ford truck and another truck which had been previously been stolen out of Hialeah.

The thieves’ plan was thwarted, however, when the van stolen out of Hialeah sustained a blown tire while traveling to the Miami area, near mile marker 59 on I-75.

On Monday afternoon, troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol found the abandoned van in the center median of Alligator Alley. Upon searching the van, they found numerous spools of copper, all of which had Hertz’s name and phone number on them.

While much of the copper wire was recovered, the truck stolen from the Hertz site has yet to be found.

Surveillance cameras at the construction site captured several images of the suspects, and Crime Stoppers is hopeful that someone will be able to place some names with their faces.

Anyone with information on the identities and whereabouts of the suspects are asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS (8477).  All callers will remain anonymous and will be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000.  Tips may also be made online at www.swflcrimestoppers.org or by texting a tip to CRIMES (274637) Keyword: REWARD.