In the last six months of 2024 some 6,000 incidents of copper wire theft were reported in the U.S. Only Texas and California had more than Missouri.

The good news is catalytic converter thefts are way down. The bad news is they have been replaced by copper thefts. “Copper is becoming more of a necessity. And it continues to increase in its value,” Derek Tolliver, Lead Investigator for AT&T told KCUR.

The telecommunications company has seen thieves dig up and cut down its cables looking for the metal. Texas and California are the biggest hot spots for stolen AT&T copper wire.

Missouri is third.

Most of the Missouri thefts are in Kansas City, St. Louis and Joplin, he said.

Copper thefts have cost AT&T $40 million nationwide so far in 2025 and $2.2 million in Missouri, according to a com

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