Bridge Theft iN Ohio
The truth is stranger than fiction and that is certainly the case in this story.
Since 2003 or 2004, almost 2 decades, a rather large conspicuous bridge chilled in an overgrown field in Akron, Ohio. For the record, this is not some small Lincoln Log bridge, this thing is 58 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 6 feet high. BIG.
Police said that it had been removed from a nearby park for a restoration project and there were plans for it to be reused in a project at a nearby women’s shelter. Anyways…
Life went on for years and nothing happened. Kids grew up, graduated from high school, moved out, and the bridge stayed there. Except one day, on November 3, a passerby (apparently the only conscious and sensible human who was concerned for the bridge) noticed something was different about the structure. According to the police, the brush around the bridge had been cleared and the deck boards were missing.
A week later, on November 11, the entire structure was gone.
I would like to say… if you notice a bridge being stolen… do something! Apparently that is not true in Akron though.
On Friday, police caught the perp, one David Bramley. Bramley “paid a local trucking company for a crane service,” and “The crane was later used to place the bridge on and off a vehicle that transported it to the Medina County property.”
So there you have it!
Honestly, if you have the guts and genius and willpower to steal an abandoned bridge and actually succeed, you should not be charged. The Akron Public Works Bureau was not doing anything and the bridge was essentially abandoned. Bramley was doing them a favor by reusing the bridge.