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There are plenty of strange news stories that have been made possible by some criminals who managed to think outside of the box, but it’s hard to top a new one concerning the theft of a 200-foot-tall radio tower in Alabama.
Every internet veteran is familiar with the many, many crimes that have been credited to the legendary “Florida Man” over the years, which typically revolve around people who figured out a particularly creative way to get dragged in for a mugshot with a little bit of help from a controlled substance that convinced them the crime in question was a good idea.
However, it appears some of their neighbors to the northwest viewed those impressively bizarre capers as a challenge.
According to AL.com, WJLX—a radio station based in Jasper, Alabama that broadcasts into Walker County—recently sent a crew of maintenance workers to clean up the area surrounding the tower it uses to relay its AM signal to listeners.
However, things took a very interesting turn last Friday when station GM Brett Elmore received a call after the landscapers arrived on the scene and discovered the 200-foot tower had somehow disappeared. After surveying the mess of wires that remained, they determined thieves had somehow managed to steal the entire metal structure.
Elmore said the tower was located at the end of a remote road near a poultry processing plant located in the middle of a 50-acre wooded property, which meant the thieves probably had some privacy while pulling off the heist.
He noted the transmitter contained copper that was probably the most valuable asset and surmised they planned to sell off the rest of the metal structure for scrap. There’s no telling how much those materials will fetch, but Elmore added the station is facing a six-figure bill if it wants to get its AM signal back on the air.
The thieves in question are also looking at federal charges if they’re apprehended courtesy of the FCC, and it’s a bit hard to imagine they’re going to get away with it when everything is said and done.