Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, June 4, 1994                   TAG: 9406060151
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

JOB SITE THEFTS UNDER INVESTIGATION BY ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER

"Most likely this is the same group. They're good," Montgomery County Sheriff's Department Lt. O.P. Ramsey said of the thieves.

The equipment has been stolen overnight from locked or unlocked buildings that are under construction.

Police suspect the thieves are current or former construction workers, Ramsey said. "They pretty well know the setup. They know where the stuff is stored. Crews come back to the site in the morning and they've literally been cleaned out."

Construction site thefts often occur during warm weather when builders are busiest. Yet the increase thus far in 1994 has been dramatic and widespread.

Between 10 and 15 such thefts have been reported this year in Montgomery County alone, Ramsey said.

"This is a large problem," said Eric Sallee of Shelter Alternatives, a Blacksburg contractor who estimates his business has lost about $6,000 to theft.

"They seem to be well organized and fairly bold," he added.

In fact, one theft occurred in daylight while a neighbor to a construction site watched, Ramsey said.

"They thought it was just a construction crew, and that it was just normal."

At one new subdivision, thieves stole an entire shipment of cabinets that were locked in a house. At another they broke into a tool cache, took a set of keys and stole a truck when they returned the next night.

Ramsey said New River Valley law enforcement authorities are cooperating in an attempt to crack the case. But the thieves have eluded arrest and none of the stolen equipment has turned up for resale locally.

Contractors are vulnerable to thefts because it's difficult to secure their equipment at job sites overnight and too much of a hassle to remove it at the end of each workday, Ramsey said.

Police have asked contractors and neighbors of job sites to be particularly alert, especially after normal working hours and on weekends.

"Anytime they see something, they should give us a call," Ramsey said. Any activity at job sites that seems unusual - even if it's not necessarily suspicious - should be reported.

"It's like working a puzzle," he said of the investigation. "If they keep it up, sooner or later some pieces will fall into place."

Staff writer Kathy Loan contributed to this story.