RUMFORD — As copper prices continue to climb due to overseas demand, thieves continue to target the metal, some more brazenly than others.

Police are continuing their investigation into last week’s theft of $3,000 worth of spooled copper wire from a Central Maine Power job site in plain view of Route 2 traffic during the night.

Sgt. James Bernard said Wednesday that on either the night of Sept. 15 or the early morning of Sept. 16, more than one person breached a chain-link fence around the CMP power station atop Falls Hill beside Route 2. The fence is topped with three strands of barbed wire.

“There had to have been several people involved, or at least three people,” Bernard said. “Approximately 600 feet of spooled copper wire was stolen. They rolled it through the woods, across South Rumford Road, and down into the Park and Ride area and loaded it into a vehicle there.”

Both the burglary and theft are classified as felony crimes.

New Hampshire police in Pembroke, Allenstown and Epsom are investigating 10 burglaries this month in which thieves targeted thousands of dollars worth of copper pipes in basements of vacant homes listed for sale or foreclosure, according to a Sept. 15 story in the Union Leader newspaper of Manchester, N.H.

Late Wednesday morning, Metal.com listed the price per pound of copper at $3.49.

According to a story published Wednesday on Bloomberg.com, the copper price per pound has risen to a five-month high.

The story said copper futures for December delivery jumped 8.45 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $3.57 a pound at 11:33 a.m. on the Commodity Exchange Link in New York. Earlier, the price reached $3.59, the highest level for a most-active contract since April 16.

Prior to Wednesday, copper rose 24 percent in the past year as manufacturing increased in China.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com