Manhole covers a must-have for thieves?

Thieves looking for a quick buck have found a new mark — manhole covers.
The heavy metal mainstays keep coming up missing, and in one case likely caused a man to spend 12 hours trapped in a hole.
Last month, 66-year-old Ronald Ervin fell down a manhole when he hopped over a concrete barrier off of Long Avenue in Gastonia.
Ervin spent 12 hours trapped down the hole until a man walking by heard his cries for help.
The area where Ervin fell was not under construction. The city surmises that the manhole cover was stolen, said Rachel Bagley, spokeswoman for the city of Gastonia.
Between 30 and 50 manhole covers have come up missing in Gastonia so far this year. But the problem reaches further than the city limits.
Bessemer City spent nearly $3,000 in December, replacing 30 manhole covers that disappeared over the course of two nights.
To prevent further thefts, Bessemer City now welds the manhole covers in place.
What’s the motive for lugging off the lackluster lids? To sell the metal for scrap, according to Officer Kim Field with Gaston County Police.
Field keeps tabs on local scrap metal yards. When she heard of manhole cover thefts in Gastonia, Bessemer City and Cherryville, she visited all of the local scrap metal businesses.
Such businesses are prohibited from buying manhole covers, most of which are clearly marked as city property.
A state statute put in place in October requires business to document all scrap metal they accept and to photograph the material.
Field said she’s cited at least one business recently for accepting manhole covers. She saw some of the cast iron caps still in a local business and saw photographs in the company’s files.
Businesses that buy the illegally obtained scrap metal are fined. If business owners continue to break the rules, they could be required to hold all scrap metal in the yard for a week before shipping it off. That would mean a loss for the business, said Field.
“That’ll pretty much shut them down,” she said.
Cast iron sells at a scrap metal yard for about 10 cents a pound. Manhole covers can weigh anywhere from 85 to 300 pounds.
Scrap metal scavengers have gotten more creative with what they’re taking, said Field. She’s seen reports of missing cemetery vases, railroad track pieces and grates from car washes.
“It’s gotten crazy the things people are stealing as far as metal,” she said.
And what’s more crucial than property loss is the danger such actions can cause.
One theft of a carwash grate left a gaping 6-foot-by-4-foot hole in the bay, said Field.
Taking manhole covers could put a person’s life at risk, she added.
“You’re leaving a big hole in the ground where kids can fall in or cause traffic hazards,” Field said.