A man on a bicycle allegedly cut copper wire out of the lights and vehicle plug-ins at a southeast Calgary high school. Police want to know who he is.
The Calgary Police Service says surveillance cameras captured the theft at Forest Lawn High School, 1304 44 St. S.E., around 6:35 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15.
Police say he cut and removed wiring connected to light standards and vehicle plug-ins on the property, then left on a bike.
On Tuesday, Nov. 3, nearly three months later, police released his description and surveillance images, and asked the public for help.
It’s one more case in a copper theft problem that has been hitting Calgary all year.
What the suspect looks like
Police describe him as:
Age: 50 to 55
Height: about 5'7"
Weight: about 150 pounds
Hair: grey, with a goatee
Tattoos: one on his right forearm, and one on his upper-left arm
He was last seen wearing:
a black baseball cap with a white design on the front
a black T-shirt
a yellow high-visibility vest
black pants and black shoes
He was carrying a black backpack and riding a black bicycle.
No charges have been announced.
What was taken
Vehicle plug-ins are the outdoor outlets used to power block heaters in cold weather. With winter coming, that matters at a school.
Police haven’t said how much wire was taken, what it was worth, or what the repairs will cost. They also haven’t said whether the damage affected the school’s lights or parking.
Copper thefts are rising in Calgary
The Forest Lawn case comes in a year when copper theft has been hitting Calgarians where they live.
Telus says thefts on its network doubled in 2026 compared with last year. In August, the company said about 1,600 customers had been affected by copper thefts that month alone. In Ogden, Kingsland, Bowness and Dalhousie, some people went more than a week without internet or phone service.
“As the price of copper has risen, so has the instance of theft,” the company said.
Thieves don’t only take copper. Telus says they often cut fibre-optic lines next to copper cables while they work. Fibre has no scrap value, but cutting it knocks out even more customers.
Police had already been warning about it. In October 2025, the Calgary Police Service reported 40 copper wire thefts from telecom infrastructure that year, with more than $1.4 million in stolen material, damage and repairs.
“Copper wire theft is not a victimless crime; it affects entire neighbourhoods,” Staff Sgt. Colin Chisholm said at the time.
In August, police charged four people in two separate copper wire thefts in northeast Calgary, along Edmonton Trail N.E. Those cases aren’t connected to the Forest Lawn theft, and the charges haven’t been proven in court.
Why copper is worth stealing
Copper is in almost everything electrical: building wiring, phone lines, streetlights, plug-ins and power equipment. It’s also easy to recycle, which gives stolen wire somewhere to go.
Prices have been high all year. Two days after the Forest Lawn theft, on Aug. 17, the London Metal Exchange cash price for copper hit about US$6.74 a pound.
Thieves don’t get anything close to that. Scrap dealers pay less, depending on the wire’s condition. The real cost lands on whoever has to replace it. A few dollars of stolen copper can mean thousands in repairs.
What Alberta has done to stop it
Alberta has had rules on scrap metal sales since November 2020:
ID: sellers have to show government-issued photo ID.
No cash: dealers can’t pay cash. Payment has to go through a bank, like a cheque or e-transfer.
Tracking: sales of copper wire and other commonly stolen metals go into a central database that police can search, within 24 hours.
In 2025, the province expanded the reporting rules to cover more types of transactions.
The rules make stolen copper harder to sell. They haven’t stopped the thefts.
What to watch for
Police say legitimate repair crews rarely work on utility or telecom lines very late at night or very early in the morning.
A high-vis vest on its own doesn’t mean anything, since real crews wear them every day. What matters is what someone is doing: cutting wire from light poles or utility boxes, pulling cable out of the ground, or loading wire coils into a car or backpack, especially after dark and without a marked work vehicle.
Don’t confront anyone. If a crime is happening right now, call 911. Otherwise, call the police non-emergency line.
How to help identify the Forest Lawn suspect
If you recognize the man, or have any information about the Aug. 15 theft, call the Calgary Police Service at 403-266-1234 and quote case number CL26820475 / 4968.
To stay anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers:
Phone: 1-800-222-8477
Online: calgarycrimestoppers.org
App: P3 Tips
Comments