For Immediate Release: June 14, 2013
Contact: Carmen Fenton, 512-673-3906

Claremore, Okla. – Authorities with the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) are seeking information leading to the arrest of suspects involved in the theft of a pickup truck and 3,000 pounds of stranded copper wire worth approximately $7,000 stolen from a ranch in the Chelsea, Okla. area. A $500 reward has been offered.

Late Wednesday night, TSCRA Special Ranger John Cummings and Rogers County Investigator Joe Garber and Deputy Virgil Carter acted on a tip and located the stolen copper in an open field in the Foyil, Okla. area. The truck was recovered from Chelsea Lake June 3. No suspects have been identified.

According to Cummings, on May 27 or 28, the suspects broke into the victim’s barn, loaded the pickup with three 750- foot coils of large diameter, unused copper cable and drove off.

Anyone with information regarding this case should contact TSCRA’s Operation Cow Thief hotline at 888-830-2333 or John Cummings at 918-342-0888. Individuals reporting information may choose to remain anonymous.

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TSCRA has 30 special rangers stationed strategically throughout Texas and Oklahoma who have in-depth knowledge of the cattle industry and are trained in all facets of law enforcement. All are commissioned as Special Rangers by the Texas Department of Public Safety and/or the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

TSCRA is a 136 year-old trade association and is the largest and oldest livestock organization based in Texas. TSCRA has more than 16,000 beef cattle operations, ranching families and businesses as members. These members represent approximately 50,000 individuals directly involved in ranching and beef production who manage 4 million head of cattle on 76 million acres of range and pasture land primarily in Texas and Oklahoma, but throughout the Southwest.