The Culpeper County Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help identifying two suspects in a series of thefts at a data centre construction site in the Germanna Highway area of Culpeper County, Virginia, Potomac Local reported on Thursday, October 22, 2026, publishing surveillance images released by the sheriff's office. Investigators say the same site has been targeted three times in a month.
The first incident occurred overnight between September 22 and September 23, when suspects cut a padlock on the site's front gate and removed a large quantity of copper piping from locked storage areas. The copper is valued at more than $200,000. Due to the size and weight of the material, investigators believe at least one large vehicle, or multiple vehicles, was used to remove it from the site.
The suspects returned overnight between October 18 and October 19. This time they cut through the perimeter fence on the east side of the property and again cut padlocks on storage areas, stealing a large number of power tools. Cameras captured two masked, gloved males during this incident, at about 12:53 a.m. on October 19. A third theft occurred overnight between October 21 and October 22: newly installed cameras recorded the suspects, who appear to be the same two individuals from the October 19 incident, and investigators believe they entered through the same cut in the fence. Both suspects wore masks and gloves and appear to have worn the same clothing during both incidents, and the thefts have occurred between approximately 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.
'These are not random hits. The same two people have come back three times in a month, and they know how to get in and out,' said Sheriff Timothy Chilton. 'Someone recognizes these individuals or their clothing. We're also asking anyone who has been offered copper or a large lot of power tools at an unusually low price to contact us.' No arrests had been announced as of the sheriff's appeal. Northern Virginia's data-centre construction boom has made building sites holding copper, cable and tools a repeated target for organised theft, and investigators are treating the three Culpeper break-ins as one connected series. (Sources: Potomac Local, October 22, 2026, reporting the Culpeper County Sheriff's Office appeal and surveillance release.)