Stolen road signs recovered in Lincoln County

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday detectives recovered 35 county road signs stolen from locations throughout the county and valued at $3,500.

Four teens were arrested and charged with misdemeanor larceny, and two more teens are expected to be charged in connection with the theft, according to the sheriff’s office.

Detective Frank Runyon said officers received information that led them to the home of one of the charged teens. He took Runyon to a wooded area at the end of Raintree Lane, where the signs were hidden under a pile of lumber.

The recovered signs included those with the road names Diesel Drive, Unity Church Road, Rufus Road and Optimist Club Road, among others.

Charged and arrested were Bradley Allen Caldwell, 18, of Lincolnton; James Walter Scott, 17, of Lincolnton; John Bishop Ayers, 17, Denver, and Seth Mcrorie, 16, of Denver.

Caldwell was also charged with misdemeanor possession of stolen goods. All were released on an unsecured bond.

Theft of signs has been on the rise in 2015, according to the sheriff’s office, with 64 signs being reported stolen in the first two months of the year.

This story was originally published May 21, 2015 at 1:09 PM with the headline "Stolen road signs recovered in Lincoln County."