Who steals an entire bridge? Ohio police find missing bridge disassembled one county over

For anyone wondering about the status of Akron, Ohio's missing bridge, you can now get over it.

As it turns out, it was a bridge not too far, just one county over.

Investigators discovered the missing 58-foot bridge partially disassembled on property in Sharon Township in Medina County, Ohio. Police have arrested a man and charged him with felony theft in the case, Akron police said Monday.

Akron police say the bridge had been stored on Middlebury Run park property off Seiberling Street just south of I-76. It had been removed after some wetland restoration was done on the property and had sat unused for some time.

Police said the city discovered Nov. 3 that someone had cleared brush that had grown around the structure, and had removed the bridge's treated deck boards. On Nov. 11, the entire metal frame, 58 feet long, 10 feet wide with 6 foot sides, was gone.

City officials say the bridge was valued at $30,000 to $40,000. It had been removed as part of the Middlebury Run Park stream restoration in 2003-04. Plans had been to reuse the bridge as part of a parking lot project for the Battered Women’s shelter.

Investigators acted on tips and got a search warrant to search the Medina County property on Friday, where they found the bridge, police said.

David Bramley, 63, of Burdett Road in Wadsworth, was charged with felony theft, according to Akron police and court records.

Detectives said they found that Bramley, who had worked in the Akron area, paid a trucking company for crane service. The company picked up the bridge and took it to Medina County, Akron police said. Bramley is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Akron Municipal Court.

The bridge is expected to be shipped back to Akron over the span of upcoming days, police said.

Follow Beacon Journal reporter Jim Mackinnon on Twitter: @JimMackinnonABJ