Pennsylvania Bridge Theft: Owners Baffled By Disappearance Of 50-Foot-Long Span

NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A 50-foot-long bridge in western Pennsylvania has been stolen, and its owners say they're baffled by the crime and have no idea who took it.

New Castle Development spokesman Gary Bruce said Friday that he "couldn't believe it when they told me it was gone."

A state police report says the 20-foot-wide span in North Beaver Township went missing between Sept. 27 and Wednesday.

The bridge was made out of corrugated steel and valued at about $100,000. Thieves used a blowtorch to cut it apart, presumably to sell it for scrap metal.

The bridge was used occasionally as a back entrance to the company property. It's in the woods along a railroad line about 60 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Bruce says he doubts the company can replace the bridge.

Comments

[watoos013]

08:42 AM on 10/11/2011

Wait you'll see it on pickers.

[MsMarchHare]

12:59 PM on 10/10/2011

Magneto did it!

[MsMarchHare]

09:26 AM on 10/10/2011

50 foot long, 20 foot wide steel bridge, and there are "no suspects"? How much of an investigator do you have to be to look for the guy who owns or rented a flatbed 18 wheeler, has heavy welding equipment and has thrown up a HUGE tarp in their backyard?

[Thaddeus Jude]

12:26 PM on 10/11/2011

Tons of people probably rent flatbeds. You can't just investigate them based on renting a flatbed, anyway.

[YOKEL13]

02:52 AM on 10/12/2011

It's probably disguised as a haystack.

[Ray Russelburg]

08:02 AM on 10/10/2011

WTF?? How the heck do you come up with ideas like this?

Sitting around drinking and talking then all of a sudden, "Hey guys! let's go steal a bridge!!!!!!"???

[mudshark12]

01:13 AM on 10/10/2011

Apparently David Copperfield isn't the only one who can make a bridge disappear!

[cmfrtblebbw]

08:01 PM on 10/09/2011

"So, what can you give me for this used 100 ft bridge...it's been hanging around my yard for a while, thought I'd bring it in for scrap."

"Yea, police? Hi, could you check to see if Brooklyn lost anything recently..."

[Samwise1948]

05:24 PM on 10/09/2011

No one even noticed the bridge was gone for 10 days?

[roald]

01:22 PM on 10/10/2011

"The bridge was used occasionally as a back entrance to the company property. It's in the woods along a railroad line about 60 miles north of Pittsburgh."

[auntypsychotic]

03:16 AM on 10/09/2011

And people say that American ambition and ingenuity is dead; that we have no work ethic. Well, these guys showed all those gloom-sucking nay-sayers.

WAY TO GO, GUYS!

WELL DONE!

[sentimentiques]

02:17 PM on 10/09/2011

N O T !!!!!!!!!

[Rational Thought Plz]

10:51 PM on 10/08/2011

When you scrap STEEL as opposed to Aluminum or Copper 1 or 2, or catalytic converters you just drive your truck onto a scale, dump your scrap, then reweigh the truck. The thing was already torched to pieces, there is no way something like this gets solved.

[leftylori]

10:02 PM on 10/09/2011

Amazing what people STEEL. We had our bell stolen from our church this past summer, it was over 1,000 pounds (although it was copper). How they picked it up I'm not sure.
but I'm sure it was cut into pieces and sold for scrap. The sad part is that bell have been with our church for 100 years.

[undaunted8]

10:29 PM on 10/08/2011

Well they probably told a few suckers they had a bridge to sell them...

[gobsmacked58]

10:09 PM on 10/08/2011

Boosting a bridge ???? That is Grand theft if i ever heard of it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Phil Campbell]

09:42 PM on 10/08/2011

If they can make a Steel bridge Disappear the Statue of Liberty Could be the Next Victim since it's outer Layer made out of Cooper.

[wadisplace]

08:46 PM on 10/08/2011

In heaven, 40 New Yorkers show up at the Pearly Gates at the same time. St. Peter is baffled what to do. Should he let them in or not. So St. Peter leaves them, and goes to the Throne Room to confer with God. God tells St. Peter,"Bring them here and let me speak with them." St. Peter leaves, but a few minutes later he comes running back all out of breath. "Their Gone!!!" "What?" God replies surprizingly,"The New Yorkers are gone so soon?" "NO!!! THE PEARLY GATES!!!"

[VoteObama2012]

08:40 PM on 10/08/2011

If they dressed in the proper gear and acted like they knew what they were doing nobody probably suspected anything.

[jimtpat]

09:59 PM on 10/09/2011

I'm taking notes, here...what's the "proper" gear to blowtorch apart a bridge?

[think-it-over]

12:11 PM on 10/10/2011

Most places it's a hard hat and a big beer gut.

[Dunkleberger Karl]

09:08 AM on 10/10/2011

It fell off the Back of a truck, REALLY!

[specialops]

08:02 PM on 10/08/2011

Inside job where are you going to scrap this bridge without no one knowing?