Man found dead in Calgary manhole Last Updated: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 | 4:21 PM MT Comments44Recommend46 CBC News An investigator peers into the electrical manhole where a man was found dead.An investigator peers into the electrical manhole where a man was found dead. (Doug Hanley/CBC)

Police are trying to figure out how a man died after he was found face down in about 15 centimetres of water at the bottom of a Calgary manhole Wednesday.

A passerby noticed a manhole with its heavy cover removed in a vacant lot on McDougall Road between 8th and 9th Street N.E. Wednesday morning and alerted ENMAX, the city-owned utility. The company then called 911.

"He's face down in about six to eight inches (15 to 20 centimetres) of water," said Jeff Budai, spokesman for the Calgary fire department. "He's been that way since we got here."

It doesn't appear that the man is an employee of the city or ENMAX, Budai added. ENMAX had to shut down power to the manhole before firefighters could remove the body.ENMAX had to shut down power to the manhole before firefighters could remove the body. (Doug Hanley/CBC)

It took three hours for ENMAX to shut down power to the electrical shaft and for crews to check the air quality before firefighters could recover the body safely.

Officials said they don't know what the man was doing in the manhole, how long he'd been there or how he died. An autopsy has been scheduled for Thursday.

However, there's evidence he may have been trying to steal copper wire in the shaft. Cut copper wire was visible around the manhole, and some tools were found at the scene.

The underground shaft, full of electrical cables, is about three metres deep and recently supplied power to a nearby linen factory that was torn down.

Follow-up Story: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2008/06/26/copper-theft.html

Copper wire may be tied to man's death Last Updated: Thursday, June 26, 2008 | 6:39 PM MT Comments0Recommend0 CBC News The price of copper has tripled in the last five years, making it more attractive to thieves.The price of copper has tripled in the last five years, making it more attractive to thieves. (CBC)

Was a man found dead at the bottom of an ENMAX electrical vault Wednesday trying to steal copper wire?

Cut wire was seen around the open manhole, and tools were found in the vault. Police would only say they are still investigating the case.

However, with the price of copper tripling in recent years, metal recyclers in Calgary say they've seen an increasing number of people trying to sell stolen wiring.

"They're stealing it from job sites big-time in the construction industry," Garth Snyder, general manager of Blackfoot Metals, said Thursday. "They'll go as far as to go into construction yards right in broad daylight and steal it right out of the yard." A man was found dead at the bottom of a Calgary manhole on Wednesday amid evidence he may have been trying to steal copper wire. A man was found dead at the bottom of a Calgary manhole on Wednesday amid evidence he may have been trying to steal copper wire. (CBC)

"That is the gold of the industry, right there," Snyder says, holding up a metre-long piece of shiny copper wire, worth about $10. He says aluminum siding is a close second in terms of value.

But Snyder said stolen goods have become such a problem that some dealers now require photo ID to complete the transaction.

"You get a guy that comes in a car, and he's got a trunk-full and the backseat full. They definitely never bring them in in the spools because spools would give it away," Snyder said of the thieves.

"If they refuse to give us the ID, then they'll go back out the door. We take their licence number. You phone the police."

RCMP Sgt. Patrick Webb said metal thefts are a problem across Western Canada. Some Calgary metal recyclers are now asking for ID before they complete a transaction.Some Calgary metal recyclers are now asking for ID before they complete a transaction. (CBC)

"The value to a criminal to steal that and actually pawn it somehow or take it to a scrap dealer has gone up and it's worth their time and effort," he said.

Dave Fehr, who runs Alberta Siding Projects, says $1,000 worth of aluminum siding, which one person can load into a pickup truck in minutes, can bring more than $300 at a scrap yard.

"Oh gosh, they can have it delivered in the morning and it's taken in the afternoon," he told CBC News.

Fehr says some metal suppliers are marking their products so they can be identified even if they're cleaned and stripped.

The price of copper closed Wednesday at $3.78 US a pound in New York, compared with $1 US a pound just five years ago.

Submitted on 06/26/2008

Submitted by: Jim
Reference: CBC News June 25, 2008

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Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
This appears to provide a bit more detail to a previous submission: http://www.darwinawards.com/slush/new/pending20080626-054351.html. Thanks, Jim.

James said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
As Bruce said!

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