Thieves thought they had a line on some copper wire, but police dialed them up before they could make off with the cable.
Three men - Thomas Stewart Robertson, 54; Robert Burgess, 55; Gregory Scott Saugstad, 39 - are the alleged perpetrators.
Prince George police said two attempts were made to steal copper cable from a dormant mill site on the Willow Cale Forest Service Road. The first break-and-enter report was called in on Tuesday just before noon.
"It was estimated that over 1,000 metres [about 3,300 feet] of copper cable had been removed from the saw mill," said RCMP spokesman Cpl. Craig Douglass.
"The investigation led investigators to a location up to a kilometre away where some of the cable had been stashed."
Police were not finished yet, and neither were thieves. A little more than 12 hours later, police were dispatched again to the same mill site. It was about 2:15 a.m. when Mounties arrived, before the copper caper was complete.
"Three male suspects had filled the back of a pickup truck with cable left behind the day before," said Douglass. "The suspects departed the area in the pickup."
They did not depart fast enough, police allege. Each suspect now faces at least three charges and these contentions are now before the courts.
The thwarted thefts reminded police of their attendance at the another scene of copper pinching in the same neighbourhood only a month ago.
It was previously reported that on April 30 a warehouse at the former Netherlands Mill location on the Willow Cale Forest Service Road was broken into, not far away from this week's incident. In that case, copper wire was the main target and the value of the loss was estimated at $30,000.
According to Allen's Scrap and Salvage, the main scrap metal dealer in the city, the price of copper has been steadily rising and although it fluctuates daily, it is at a healthy level. No. 1 copper was selling earlier this week for about $3 per pound, No. 2 copper was selling at $2.75 per pound, and insulated copper was going for 75 cents per pound.
"In the last few days, the Prince George RCMP have received approximately six reports of copper wire being stolen from various locations in the Prince George area," said Douglass. "These thefts are occurring during the night."
Furthermore, the thieves are taking chances like removing live wires, which is risky and usually involves training.
Anyone with information is asked to contact RCMP as soon as possible at 250-561-3300 or anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS / www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca.
