Police: Thieves will steal anything

DAYTON,Ohio (WDTN) - Dayton police said scrap metal thieves are getting desperate, stealing anything they can get their hands on, including a statue of a young boy, believed to be a memorial stolen from a cemetery.

"It doesn't matter," said Detective Jamie Bullens. "There is nothing exempt. If it has scrap metal, and it has value, its not safe."

Bullens said the statue was brought in to First Street Recycling, raising the suspicions of employees, who called police.

"They were noticeably upset that this could come from a little boy's grave site out there," Bullens said. "That is a travesty. "

Bullens said stolen statues are rare, and said thieves are mostly targeting vacant homes in neighborhoods.

On Nov. 9, Dayton police arrested two people accused of bringing in 300 pounds of stolen metal from vacant homes.

"They're stealing everything from copper wiring, aluminum siding and air conditioning coils."

Bullens said the price of metal is not what it used to be. "They were getting up to 4$ a pound, now its $2 dollars a pound. We are seeing people stealing twice as much to make up for the cost of what they lost in revenue."

If you have any information or see suspicious activity, call Crime Stoppers at 222-STOP.