Thieves stripped close to 80 road signs from Sumner County roads in the 10 days leading up to Oct. 19, leaving intersections without stop signs and costing taxpayers nearly $20,000 in replacements.
The thefts hit roads across the county, and Hendersonville drivers who travel county roads outside city limits face the same hazard at unmarked intersections.
More than 70 of those signs disappeared over one weekend, according to Sumner County Highway Department Road Superintendent Toby Ellis. The stolen signs include stop signs, speed limit signs, street name signs, bridge markers and curve warnings, WKRN-News 2 first reported.
Ellis said the scale is unprecedented. He told News 2 the thefts appear coordinated and that he suspects minors are behind them. He urged parents to look in their children's rooms for road signs that should not be there.
The missing stop signs pose the sharpest danger. Ellis said drivers unfamiliar with county roads could come upon an intersection with no warning, and someone could get seriously hurt.
On Monday, Oct. 19, a News 2 crew found a Sumner County road crew at Highway 25 and Liberty Lane with a truck loaded with replacement signs. Workers said they had been pulled off other duties to fix broken poles and reposition signs that had been taken.
The bill keeps climbing. Ellis said the replacement cost is approaching $20,000.
"We work off of a budget, and this is a hard hit for that item," Ellis told News 2.
The Sumner County Highway Department posted on Facebook asking residents along the affected roads to check surveillance cameras. The roads named include Liberty Lane, Garrison Branch, Cummings Lane, Mud Hollow Road, Jones Road, Weeping Willow Road and New Hope Road.
The Sumner County Sheriff's Office is investigating. Anyone with information or video is asked to call the sheriff's office at 615-452-2616 or the highway department at 615-452-2632.
