For Immediate Release: June 4, 2013
Contact: Carmen Fenton, 512-673-3906
Claremore, Oklahoma – Authorities with the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) are offering a reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of a suspect or suspects involved in the theft of a pickup truck and 3,000 pounds of stranded copper wire worth approximately $7,000. The property was stolen from a ranch near Chelsea, Okla.
Authorities located the truck in North Chelsea Lake Monday night, but are asking the public for information on the whereabouts of possible suspects.
According to TSCRA Special Ranger John 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.
Cummings says that scrapping that much copper wire should raise a red flag.
Anyone with information on the location of the suspects or wire 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.