Ohio man accused of hiring crane, stealing 58-foot bridge, police say

Authorities in Ohio have arrested a suspect in connection to a 58-foot bridge that went missing last fall.

On Nov. 3, the Akron Police Department said, “it was discovered that someone had cleared brush around it and removed the treated deck boards.”

Eight days later, on Nov. 11, the entire structure had vanished.

The pedestrian bridge previously had been in use in Middlebury Run Park but because of a wetland restoration project it had been moved to an East Akron field to be stored.

Investigators acting on tips executed a search warrant on the field and recovered the partially disassembled bridge on Dec. 17.

According to police, David Bramley, 63, of Sharon Township is accused of hiring a crane service in November to load the 10-foot-wide, 6-foot-high bridge onto a vehicle, which then transported the structure to a Medina County property.

“Utilizing the spirit of those partnerships, detectives, along with law enforcement personnel from neighboring jurisdictions, were able to help locate the stolen bridge and bring this investigation to a close,” police said.

Bramley currently faces a charge of fourth-degree felony theft.