On Friday, Sept. 27, the Sanborn County Sheriff’s Office received a report that rural residents in the Forestburg area had discovered that approximately $1,000 worth of beef had been stolen from their freezers.

Since the meat had been purchased and put in two freezers in June, the complainants estimate that about 170 lbs. of beef have been taken from them in a gradual process over a time span of around three months. The stolen goods include packages of hamburger patties, ground beef and steaks. 

The theft wasn’t discovered right away because the meat is owned by two or three people, so they thought that the other owner(s) were taking meat for themselves. However, when the owners were together, they talked about the meat and realized that they hadn’t been using as much as they thought, which is when they discovered what was happening.

Sanborn County Sheriff Tom Fridley is using this platform to make Sanborn County residents aware of this criminal activity and asking them to check their own freezers or food storage areas to see if the above-mentioned incident is or isn’t the only location of theft of this kind. He is also asking anyone who has any information about this crime or knows anyone who might have information to contact the Sheriff’s office at 605-796-4511.