Steinbach RCMP are actively searching for a 34-year-old male suspect in connection to a theft last week northeast of Blumenort. RCMP have a warrant for the arrest of Dustin Shelton for his alleged involvement in a theft at a Fast Brothers pit along Road 43 North.

A spokesperson for Fast Brothers at Blumenort says for the third time in less than a year, they fell victim to a theft of copper at one of their pits.

Curtis Bartsch says the most recent crime was discovered Friday morning. He explains their staff showed up to the pit and were about to fire up the crusher when they discovered a bunch of cable had been cut and removed. 

Bartsch says they notified RCMP but also decided to take matters into their own hands and followed ATV markings leaving the site. 

"You could see tracks, they had cut the fence to get into the pit and there were obvious track marks from a quad as well as dragging marks from the cable that they had taken," explains Bartsch.

Their staff followed the tracks to a residence nearby. There, they approached an individual who initially stated he was not the thief, but Bartsch says he eventually admitted to helping with the crime. They then took their cable back.

Bartsch says after filing a report with RCMP, officers made a visit to the residence where the cable had been discovered, but Bartsch says the suspect fled on motorbike before police could speak to him.

Photos of the suspect and motorbike have been provided. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Dustin Shelton is asked to contact Steinbach RCMP or Crime Stoppers.

According to Bartsch, the copper that was stolen is fairly expensive, costing several thousands of dollars. However, he notes what is even more costly is the downtime as a result.

"We probably lost close to $10,000 worth of repairing time," notes Bartsch. "As well as the product that could have been processed through the crusher is probably upwards of $40,000 to $50,000."

He notes two similar thefts happened about a month apart last fall.

The suspect took off with this motorbike.The suspect took off with this motorbike (Photo credit: Fast Brothers).