Copper piping was reported stolen from two vacant Flossmoor homes in less than one week.
On Jan. 22, a contractor working at a house on the 3000 block of Scott Crescent told police that about 80 feet of copper piping was stolen. Nothing else was missing from the house, which is owned by a Houston finance company. Police said that a door was closed, but not latched.
Copper was also stolen from a house on the 2400 block of Brookwood Drive. A worker from a property maintenance firm told police that an unknown amount of copper pipe was stolen. In addition, a section of metal fence was also removed from the property, which is owned by the Bank of America. Police said a door was unsecured, and it appeared that a key in the real estate lockbox had been stolen.
Deputy Police Chief Tod Kamleiter said incidents of copper piping and other items vital to the mechanics of a house are actually declining in Flossmoor. He said they were more common following the 2008 recession when the village had many more foreclosed properties. With the improved economy, he said, the number of such incidents has greatly dropped.
