Investigators in Burke County are working to find out who stole three trucks and took thousands of dollars in parts out of them.

NBC Augusta's was there Wednesday as investigators looked for clues.

They told NBC Augusta they have several leads in this case and they think whoever did this spent a lot of time planning this crime.

Captain Frank Parker with the Burke County Sheriff’s Office said they got a tip from some kids who had been walking in the woods and discovered two trucks Tuesday afternoon.

Investigators found two Freightliners stripped of most of their parts in a wooded area off Highway 305. They're two of three trucks stolen from Tenant Trucking Company in Martinez three months ago.

Parker said, "I think what their main motive from what we see here, someone was in the trucking business or they stole parts off these trucks like motors, transmissions, wheels and tires to sell.”

In that same area, officers found about 36,000 pounds of copper coated wires in a tractor trailer bed. Investigators say the wire is used for tire manufacturing.

But investigators say, it wasn't the copper thieves were after.

"We think there was a money gain here where it was either selling the parts or putting them on their truck for their own use," said Parker.

Investigators also said that this wasn't an overnight job.

“You could tell that they spent some time back here. As I was pointing out earlier, before they even got in here, they had to cut trees down to make a road," said Parker.

Investigators say they could make an arrest as early as Thursday.
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