Giant reel of wire weighing more than 2,000 pounds stolen near Fort Macleod

Thieves somehow stole a wire reel that weighed more than 900 kilogramsfrom a job site in southern Alberta community.

The reel was stolen last week froma Fortis job site just north of Fort Macleod,RCMP said in a release Tuesday.

Somehow, the wooden reel which was more than 1.6 metres wide was dragged across the highway and transported from the scene, RCMP said.

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Fortisreported the theft Thursday morning. Investigators say it went missing sometime after 8 p.m. the previous evening.

The crew was working on a project at Highway 811 and Township Road 93.

The 750 MCM wire is encased in black plastic with red stripes.

Thieves often target such wire for the copper, which is currently selling for$3.12 US ($3.95 Cdn) a pound.

The Fort Macleod Mounties say this was the second wire theft from the same worksitethis month.

In the first instance, 90 metres of primary underground cable was cut and removed.

Anyone with information about these crimes can call the Fort Macleod RCMP at 403-553-7200 or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously.

Fort Macleod is about 170 kilometres south of Calgary.

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