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 The thief or thieves raided the farm in eastern Tennessee sometime between Nov. 24 and last week and cut the top off the Fraser firs that were 10 to 12 feet tall.
"It's like the Grinch stealing Christmas trees," Sheriff Kent Harris said.
Tipton grows the taller trees for use in businesses, churches and homes with high ceilings, and they usually sell for about $100 each.
The culprit sawed the top 6 feet off about 28 trees and hauled them off the property, probably to sell off for use in smaller homes. Tipton estimates they would get about $15 to $20 each.
"It's a very low person who commits such a crime as this at Christmastime," Sheriff's Maj. Ronnie Adkins said.
Tipton still has about 6,000 trees growing on his farm near the North Carolina border, but they are in various stages of maturity. The pilfered firs were ready for sale when they were taken sometime last week.
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 "I had gone to harvest the trees," Tipton said. "That's when I noticed there had been somebody in there cutting them. (It was) sort of disbelief. I couldn't believe anybody would go to the extremes they went to get them."
Authorities have a description of a vehicle, but a lack of evidence may hinder catching the Grinch.
[Associated
Press]
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