Police say Wilson Auction is the latest in a string of metal thefts. Thieves took or damaged $37 thousand of wires and cable.
"Wilson Auction had it stored at the location, it was outside in a lot," Deputy Chief Carson Mansfield said. "They cut a chain and it's gone."
Police believe that the thieves could be interested in more than just the wires.
"Besides the use of the wires, people are taking the wire and using it as scrap," Deputy Chief Mansfield said.
Police say that the increase metals had made thefts like the one at Wilson Auction more common in Salina.
"We've had a lot of thefts, the whole state has had a lot of thefts recently," Deputy Chief Mansfield said. "People taking expensive wires, stripping it down and selling it for much less money just as scrap."
The state has tried to fight back by making it more difficult to sell metals anonymously.
"The state has more requirements," Deputy Chief Mansfield said. "Those types of records have made it easier to follow and we are getting more prosecutions because of it."
Employees at Salina Iron and Metal say that people selling metal, except for aluminum cans, must show them their driver's liscences. They also have surveillance cameras in their shop to help indentify their customers.
