BEAVERTOWN, Pa. -- A string of thefts during the holiday season is only now coming to light in part of Snyder County.
Investigators want to catch the culprits behind dozens of break-ins involving vehicles and garages plus vandalism.
Beavertown is home to about 1,000 people in a rural part of Snyder County. Residents describe it as a small, quiet town with a homey feel. But just hours after Christmas Day wrapped up, thieves hit the borough dozens of times in just a few hours, and investigators are trying to track them down.
When you're driving to Beavertown, about 20 minutes west of Selinsgrove, you see a lot of open land and, at this time of year, snow-covered hills. You get the sense that not much happens around here and people who live here say that's indeed the case, except for the day after Christmas.
"It's crazy. We're such a rural area in this area. Things like this shouldn't be happening," said Thomas Kent of Beavertown.
According to police, there were more than 40 thefts during the early morning hours of December 26. Investigators say cash and credit cards were stolen, as well as guns and bicycles from garages and cars throughout the borough. The culprits also sprayed the insides of vehicles with fire extinguishers.
"You always think of it being in the bigger cities. It's hitting closer to home. It's scary. You don't know who it is. You wonder about your place. They said about the garages being broken into. It's scary," said Michele Kerstetter of Middleburg.
"We need law enforcement out here," Kent said. "We're only allotted so many hours from different boroughs to patrol this area. We need law enforcement. It seems like from McClure to Beavertown, it's forgotten about."
A news conference will be held at the Beavertown Borough Building on Tuesday at 1 p.m. The mayor will have an update on the investigation.
"They'll get caught. Somebody knows something, and it'll be reported, and they'll get caught," Kerstetter said.
If you have any information, you're asked to call the Middleburg Police Department.