It sure wasn't slim pickins for these thieves.
It sure wasn't slim pickins for these thieves.
Jon and Robyn Drummond own Williams Orchard in LaPorte County, Indiana. They had just bought the farm this summer and were excited to help keep a beloved institution alive for their community. After opening for the season on Labor Day, the couple were shocked to discover they were missing a chunk of their apple crop.
Thieves had stolen 50,000 apples from an acre of the farm earlier this month, the Drummonds told media outlets. The juicy loot is estimated to be worth nearly $30,000.
“To be able to see an entire block of trees, nearly cleanly picked, when just days earlier there were thousands and thousands of apples on them, we just couldn’t even fathom it,” Jon told WSBT.
Because there weren't any stray apples on the ground, the Drummonds figured the bandits laid tarps on the ground, shook the trees and scooped up their stash.
"I was floored," Jon told CNN. "When someone comes in and commercially steals from you, it's like, whoa. That's a little disheartening."
The apple thieves ransacked trees in a back part of the orchard, allowing them sneak off with the fruit quietly. Jon is sure the robbers had industry knowledge to be able to clean so many trees so well.
"We think it was an in-Cider job...making the best outta this rotten situation," read a post on the farm's Facebook page.
Still, the stripped trees are only a small portion of Williams Orchard. The Drummonds want customers to know there are plenty more apples to pick.
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