--- title: "Thieves Steal 200 Foot Radio Tower" description: "Staff at a radio station in Jasper, Alabama were stunned after finding that the station's 200-foot AM radio tower mysteriously went missing." date: "2024-02-09" modified: "2024-02-09" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/thieves-steal-radio-tower" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "radio" - "radio frequency" - "the digest" --- # Thieves Steal 200 Foot Radio Tower ![Staff at a radio station in Jasper, Alabama were stunned after finding that the station's 200-foot AM radio tower mysteriously went missing.]() *\Image: Getty Images\* ## Tower Heist Staff at a radio station in Jasper, Alabama were stunned after finding that the station's 200-foot AM radio tower mysteriously went missing. As a result, [*NBC* reports](), the station hasn't been able to broadcast since. When a landscaping crew showed up at the site last week for some spring cleaning, they discovered absolute mayhem and called station general manager Brett Elmore right away. "What do you mean the tower is gone?" Elmore recalled saying in an *NBC* interview. "Are you sure you’re in the right place? I actually used more colorful words than that." "He said there’s wires all over the ground and the tower is gone," he added. ## Pirate Radio Thieves didn't just dismantle and drive off with the massive tower. They also ransacked a nearby building, picking it clean of all equipment including a transmitter. To stay on the air, the station was hoping to appeal to the Federal Communications Commission to use FM radio until its AM tower is back up. Unfortunately, the regulator "denied our request to stay on air on the FM side, so actually, we’re about to go power down the transmitter," Elmore told the *NBC*. Worse yet, according to Elmore, the "site was not insured." "We’re a small-market station, but we’re going to get back, and we’re going to be back on the air as soon as we possibly can," he added. ## Broadcast Burglary We still have no idea of who could've stolen a 200-foot radio tower, let alone why. Elmore [told *The Guardian*]() that thieves had also hit a nearby radio station six months ago, robbing it of its air conditioning unit, as well as copper pipes and other materials, but it's unclear if the two heists are connected. "This is a huge loss," Elmore told the newspaper. "People have reached out and asked how they can help, but I don’t know how you can help unless you have a 200ft tower and an AM transmitter." **More on radio signals:** *[Chinese Spacecraft Emitting Strong Signal Over North America]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()