Grounded: Grays Harbor deputies cut short highway wire heist
Sep 13, 2026, 10:20 AM
Two alleged wire thieves caught in the act on Highway 12 near Aberdeen. Authorities estimate they did around $100,000 in damage to communications wiring. (Photo: Grays Harbor Sheriff's Dept.)
(Photo: Grays Harbor Sheriff's Dept.)
Deputies in Grays Harbor arrested two men Saturday for trying to steal hundreds of feet of wire along Highway 12.
The sheriff’s department reported that someone called 911 and said they saw two men cutting telephone wire and witnessed sparks flying from the wires.
Deputies say the crime occurred about four miles east of Aberdeen, at Milepost Four, on the roadway that’s also known as Olympic Highway.
Once officers arrived, deputies say they found the two men sitting in their vehicle.
They also found about 200 feet of recently cut communications wire.
Sheriff’s deputies arrested two men and recovered close to 200 feet of communications wiring on Highway 12 Saturday. (Photo: Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Dept.)
Officers say the men pulled the wiring down the highway from where they cut it and dropped it next to their vehicle.
Authorities made a preliminary estimate of the damage and say it’s close to $100,000.
The deputies arrested both men.
They were booked into the Grays Harbor County Jail on possible charges of Theft in the Second Degree and Malicious Mischief in the First Degree.
