The search continues for the copper thieves that struck Lowndes County last week after two suspects caught in Clinch County have been completely ruled out as suspects in the Lowndes County thefts.

“It was a dead lead,” Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk said when asked about whether there was a connection in the burglaries. “The burglaries in Lowndes and Clinch counties are not connected at all.”

Despite unsuccessful attempts to apprehend any suspects, authorities are following up on various leads and have been successful in recovering the John Deere Gator stolen from Valdosta Technical College last week.

“The Gator was recovered in a wooded area fairly close to the school,” Paulk said. The sheriff would not comment on whether any other clues to help link authorities to a suspect were found at the scene.

The Gator was taken from Val Tech, along with a few thousand dollars worth of copper wiring, some time during the weekend of June 27. Val Tech maintenance employees arrived at work the following Monday morning to find the maintenance building burglarized, according to Val Tech spokesperson Christina McLeod.

During the same weekend, several construction trailers were broken into and approximately $15,000 worth of copper was taken. Some hammer drills were also stolen from work trucks.

Copper thieves struck again Tuesday, July 1, at the Magnolia privatized housing project near Moody AFB. Various locks had been removed from storage trailers on the property and initial inventory checks suggested that some copper wiring had been taken.

Copper burglaries have been on the rise since the recent increase in the price of copper. According to Paulk, copper is now being sold for $3.78 per pound, which has many scurrying to find it wherever they can.

“Several power companies are having problems with people cutting the wire out of poles,” Paulk said in an earlier interview with The Times. “In some cases, people have also stolen ground wires, which is very dangerous.”

Anyone with information about the burglaries is encouraged to contact the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office at (229) 333-5150.