Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By RICHARD JENKINS
Ironwood — The Ironwood Public Safety Department announced Wednesday night that several local law enforcement agencies executed a search warrant in Ironwood earlier that day in connection to a series of local thefts.
An IPSD spokesperson said the department received “numerous” reports from citizens about vehicles and garages being broken into recently and items stolen.
The Michigan State Police received an “actionable tip that they shared with the Public Safety Department,” the spokesperson said. “This tip along with other information led to a search warrant being obtained and executed at an Ironwood home.”
Officers from the IPSD, Gogebic County Sheriff's Department, MSP, Hurley Police Department and Iron County Sheriff's Department executed the search warrant, recovering property from several of the reported thefts.
Officers were able to verify some additional items observed during the first search were stolen, IPSD Sgt. Matt Sterbenz told the Daily Globe, leading officers to obtain a second warrant to seize those items.
Sterbenz said no arrests have been made yet.
The investigation is ongoing, and the case remains open. The department is encouraging anyone who had items stolen but not reported to come forward.
“Officers observed several other items that are likely stolen but they were not able to recover them as there were no reports of the items being missing or stolen,” the spokesperson said.
Sterbenz previously advised people to contact law enforcement if they suspect a break-in, even if nothing was taken, as it can help establish a pattern for a neighborhood or produce evidence in other cases.
“Reporting suspicious activity is the key (to) giving your local law enforcement the opportunity to catch them,” Sterbenz said. “If we don’t know about (an incident) ... it decreases our chances of being able to catch people and put an end to the break-ins.”
If anyone thinks they've had a break-in, Sterbenz said they should contact the authorities and try and preserve any evidence of the crime.
“Try not to touch everything,” Sterbenz said. “Be aware, if there are footprints in the dirt or mud outside the vehicle or in the area, not to step on top of them so we have the opportunity to try and photograph them and preserve the evidence.”
The IPSD can be contacted at 906-932-1234.
