Police baffled over theft of entire 58-ft high bridge in Ohio a month ago

Thieves dismantled the entire structure and stole it

Thieves in Ohio who stole an entire 58-foot bridge last month have left the police flabbergasted.

Officials said they “have not heard of anything that large stolen” ever in their careers.

The thieves dismantled a 58-foot bridge installed in a field near a creek in Akron, Ohio, and police later said that the entire structure disappeared from its original location.

The bridge, officials said, was installed in the early 2000s as part of a restoration project but the city later decided to use it for another project and kept it in the field for later use.

The deck boards of the bridge were removed last month and a week later, the police said, that the entire structure was stolen.

Lt Michael Miller of Akron Police Department told News 5 Cleveland: “I have not heard of anything that large — albeit it disassembled but actually stolen, I can’t think of anything comparable in my 22 years [at the Akron Police Department].”

The thieves dismantled the entire structure —  which is 10-feet wide, six-feet high and with a span of 58-feet — and then took it away from the field.

Mr Miller said: “We know it will be met with mystery and questions: who and how and why? All of those are unanswered. It ranks high on the list of mysteries, that’s for sure.”

Police says that the thieves can’t possibly use the material used in the bridge — polymer-based — for any recycling or selling off as scrap. It is worthless to a scrapper or a recycler, police said.

Mr Miller said: “Essentially the bridge is made of some sort of polymer. It’s connected by some bolts. If you have any equipment, sockets, and things of that nature, it wouldn’t have been very difficult at all to begin the process of disassembling that. It’s described as a big Lego-like device.”

The robbery of the bridge has cost the city about $40,000 and police are hoping that the local community members will come forward with information about the thieves.

Mr Miller said: “Someone that might mistakenly think there is a particular scrapping value of that particular material. Maybe they are mistaken and now they’re stuck with, ‘well, what do we do with it? It went beyond impulsive.”

On social media, the news of a stolen bridge was met with amusement.

One user said: “Only in Akron can you steal an entire bridge and get away with it.” Another said: “Someone has stolen a whole-ass bridge. What are their plans for that bridge? What was the end game [sic]??”