Dozens of street signs go missing in a single NC county, cops say. Mystery lingers

Dozens of street signs disappeared from a single county in North Carolina — sparking a mystery, officials said.

The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said the 84 signs were stolen near Fayetteville. The signs came down from 42 intersections in “the Eastover area extending into the Wade-Stedman area,” according to an Aug. 29 news release.

About two weeks earlier, deputies were called to the Cumberland County Sign Shop in reference to the missing signs. Officials said the signs were taken down on Aug. 12-13 and have since been replaced at an estimated cost of more than $20,000.

“The sign shop worked diligently and swiftly to replace all the stolen signs from the reported locations,” the sheriff’s office wrote.

Now, deputies are seeking clues in the lingering mystery. The sheriff’s office in its news release said it hopes people living in the area will check video from their surveillance and doorbell cameras.

Though officials continue looking for a possible motive, some social media users speculated about reasons behind the thefts. Several people said they figured the signs were stolen for scrap while at least one other person wondered whether the thief ran out of things to do.

Officials didn’t share suspect information in the news release, and an investigation was ongoing as of Aug. 30, according to online records.

Anyone with details is asked to call the property crimes unit at 910-677-5499 or Crimestoppers at 910-483-8477. People can also reach out through the P3 Tips smartphone application or online at fay-nccrimestoppers.org.

Cumberland County is roughly 70 miles south of Raleigh.

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