Missing Michigan bridge found 30 miles away

[Hum]

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., Dec. 5 (UPI) -- The owner of a 5,000-pound bridge that vanished from his property in suburban Detroit said the wood-and-steel structure has been found about 30 miles away.

Robert Cortis, who reported the bridge stolen from his Farmington Hills property Wednesday, said the missing wood-and-steel structure was found Thursday about 30 miles away in Belleville.

Farmington Hills Police Cmdr. Matt Koehn said the police investigation is ongoing, but the person or people responsible for taking the structure might not face prosecution.

"I can't say if there was a crime committed here," he told The Detroit News. "This might just be the result of a misunderstanding. A big misunderstanding."

"Yes, that bridge was apparently taken without his permission but it would require an actual victim to seek criminal charges and he has made it clear he's not concerned so much about prosecution, just getting his bridge back," he said

more & video

[Mandosis]

How does that even happen?

[Crimson Rain]

Someone tried and failed to sell a bridge.

[remixedcat]

How does that even happen?

 

Detroit.

[DocM]

Not Detroit.

This was a private foot bridge over a local creek. Farmington Hills is an upper middle class city with some rural areas. Belleville is a small city with plenty of rural spaces in the surrounding township. Go a mile south of downtown and you're almost in farmland. Someone could hide a stolen 737 in some parts of it.

[Hum]

I thought it washed down a river.

[Alwaysonacoffebreak]

 

Robert Cortis, who reported the bridge stolen

 

This...what? How the hell can you steal a bridge? It's not like you can tie a rope to it and drag it away?

[DocM]

They disassembled it, put it on trucks and hauled it off.

There was a scrapper crew in Detroit who stole the big ($20,000+) rooftop air conditioning units from several occupied buildings.

[Krome]

I thought it washed down a river.

UFO took the bridge for hide-n-seek game. :rofl: :shiftyninja:

[remixedcat]

They disassembled it, put it on trucks and hauled it off.

There was a scrapper crew in Detroit who stole the big ($20,000+) rooftop air conditioning units from several occupied buildings.

 

 

Didn't people steal storm drains and pipes too and they had a big flooding problem as a result?

[DocM]

More commonly they steal the power cables and motors from underpass flood pumps for metals, especially copper. As wet as it can be here that can mean 12+ feet of water after a good storm. Some of our lowlands flood from a wet sneeze. Note the bridge clearance sign says 14 feet 2 inches.

[Hum]

Build bridges out of Lego.

 

That way they can easily be replaced. ;)

[+therealDamien Subscriber¹]

they said it was a misunderstanding....

 

 

what was misunderstood?

[DocM]

AIUI the owner just wants his bridge back and doesn't want to bother with going to court. With him calling it a misunderstanding the prosecutor has no complaining witness and won't spend the money to prosecute it.

BTW: this was a ~40 foot steel and wood bridge, not a little one. It took some work to get it off the property.

[DConnell Member]

Build bridges out of Lego.

 

That way they can easily be replaced. ;)

 

Considering the price of Lego, it might be cheaper to use regular building materials!

[Tidosho]

Well, at least now it's found they can bridge the gap, LOL :)