HOUSE SPRINGS, Mo. — The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office needs your help tracking down a suspect they believe to be connected to at least three thefts near House Springs.
It’s believed the man stole a side-by-side from near High Ridge on Sept. 19.
Investigators believe that the same man was involved in two separate thefts in House Springs on Sept. 21.
Andy Lenzen, the director of the Northwest Junior Football Association, first noticed something was off while setting up for a football game, so he checked the security cameras.
“There was a guy walking from one of our sheds over to the other shed,” Lenzen said. “That sparked my interest. I came back up here and noticed the locks were all drilled out. That’s when I started searching around to see what was missing.”
After looking through a storage shed, Lenzen noticed that a number of tools and several pieces of equipment were missing.
“It’s not like we’re a business,” Lenzen said. “We’re not for profit. It’s totally for kids in our community and for people to take advantage of that is sad.”
According to a spokesman from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, just a few hours later, security cameras outside an Ameren Operations Center just down the road caught the same suspect trying to steal a roll of copper.
“It’s unfortunately easy money for them to steal copper and wiring,” Lt. Michael Merchant said. “Then they go recycle it for a cut rate at a recycling center.”
Though the man ran away before sheriff’s deputies arrived, investigators were able to recover the tools stolen from Northwest, as well as the stolen side-by-side.
“It’s sad that it’s state of the world we live in now that people are going to victimize an organization that’s primary interest is children,” Merchant said.
"Somebody knows somebody that knows somebody that saw this,” Lenzen said. “I want our community to take care of our own community. This is an opportunity for us to take care of that, so I'd love to see this guy get caught."
If you have any information that could help lead to an arrest in this case, call the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office at 636-797-5089.