Scio Township business rocked by theft of 16 boulders

By Kyle Feldscher Crime and courts reporter

Posted on Thu, Jul 19, 2012 : 12:19 p.m.

Kaiser Optical Systems in Scio Township has been rocked by the theft of 16 boulders that made up a retaining wall behind the business.

Sgt. Geoff Fox, of the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office, said Thursday the boulders were removed in stages from the business, 371 Parkland Plaza, during the past week. The rocks were used as a retaining wall behind the business and were estimated to cost about $50 each, he said.

He didn’t have an estimate on how big the boulders were, but the thieves must have come back to the location multiple times to take all 16.

“Most of them are pretty big,” he said. “They (landscapers) make them in all different sizes, some of the bigger ones are pretty heavy so you don’t see it that much.”

Fox, who said investigators would leave no stone unturned during the investigation, described the bizarre theft as rare. Details on the thefts are sparse at this point, leaving deputies between ... well, a rock and a hard place.

A message left with a Kaiser Optical Systems was not immediately returned Thursday. The company is described as a world leader in spectrographic instrumentation and holographic technology on its website.

Fox did not have a suspect description available when he spoke with AnnArbor.com Thursday.

Anyone with information on the incident is encouraged to call the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office anonymous tip line at 734-973-7711.

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