Where’s the beef? In 2 similar burglary cases, Iron County residents report freezer meat stolen

Partially empty freezer shelves at the scene of a reported burglary involving stolen meat, Cedar City, Utah, May 27, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — Two burglary incidents involving the theft of frozen meat were reported in the Cedar City area earlier this week, prompting calls for public’s help in identifying the perpetrators.

Although the incidents occurred several miles apart, one at a home in Enoch and the other at a residence in a neighborhood near Cedar City’s Bicentennial Park, they share several similarities. 

Both crimes were reported to local police on Monday but are believed to have occurred sometime between Sunday evening and Monday morning. In both instances, a substantial quantity of frozen meat was stolen from a freezer located inside a garage.

The Cedar City case reportedly involved the theft of several hundred dollars worth of beef, along with other meat and prepackaged frozen meals.

Christy Gordon told Cedar City News that her mother, who is a retired widow, had gone out into her detached garage to get some recently purchased food items out of two upright freezers when she noticed that a substantial portion of the food that had been stored inside them was missing.

“We’re assuming it happened in the middle of the night because she’s home all day,” Gordon said. “She has two big dogs and neither one of the dogs barked.”

Adding to the mystery is how the thief or thieves managed to get all the food over the backyard fence, as all three gates into the backyard were still locked. Gordon speculated they may have used a ladder to get over one of the fences or walls that line the backyard.

Additionally, the thieves didn’t appear to disturb or steal anything else stored inside the garage, including tools and other items of value, Gordon said.

Close-up view of a package of beef similar to those reported stolen from a freezer at a residential garage in Cedar City, Utah, May 22-23, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

“The only thing they took was food from the freezers,” she said.

“We’re assuming that there were multiple people because it would have taken them quite a long time,” she added. “They went through a lot of work to get into the backyard and garage to take what they took.”

In the Enoch case, Samantha Palmer reported in a Facebook post on Monday that sometime during the previous day, someone had broken into her home’s garage and had stolen hundreds of dollars worth of meat from a chest freezer.

Palmer said she and her husband and their two young children are still recovering from last summer’s devastating flooding that damaged their home and yard, along with numerous others in their neighborhood.

“We are trying our hardest to put our life back together and then to have someone violate our home like this is not okay.” Palmer wrote in her post. 

Palmer also shared her story on Fox13 News earlier this week. When contacted by Cedar City News, Palmer said she preferred the focus of this article be directed toward Gordon’s family instead, “So that they can receive an outpouring of love and support like we did.”

Palmer did say that she has never met Gordon and only knows her through a comment she made on Palmer’s Facebook post about the theft, wherein Gordon pointed out the similarities between the two incidents.

“I don’t think we have any mutual friends, either,” Palmer said, saying nobody in either family can think of anyone they know who might have targeted either freezer.

Palmer’s stolen meat was mostly pork that she and her husband had raised themselves, since their 8-year-old daughter is allergic to beef. The packages are wrapped in clear plastic and have labels on them bearing the name, address and phone number of Beehive Pack of Salina.

Meanwhile, Gordon’s mother’s freezer contained packages of beef wrapped in white butcher paper stamped “Not for Sale” along with Custom Meat Shop. Some of the meat was hers and some was her mother’s, Gordon noted, adding that at least $400 worth of store-bought meals and food items were also taken.

Close-up view of a package of pork similar to those reported stolen from a freezer at a residential garage in Enoch, Utah, May 22-23, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Samantha Palmer, St. George News / Cedar City News

“Everything is expensive right now. And meat is no different,” Gordon said. “And it’s just going to keep going that way. I can’t imagine that this is a one-time deal. I can’t imagine they’re like, ‘Oh, we’re gonna just do this once and take all this stuff and never do it again.’”

As of Friday afternoon, there have been no substantial developments reported in either case, although both incidents remain active. Investigators have not yet said whether they have reason to believe the crimes are connected. Nevertheless, the public is asked to call police if they have seen or heard anything suspicious over the past several days, including people offering meat or other frozen food for sale in an unusual manner.

“My main question is, what are they doing with all of this meat?” Gordon said. “Are they packaging it and reselling it? Are they going to IFA and buying new butcher paper, wrapping it and reselling it to people? Because it’s a lot to store. And, where are these people keeping it? Are they dividing it between several families? Are they using it?”

“It just doesn’t make sense to me because you’re talking like six to eight months’ worth of meat for a family of five that’s being taken at a time,” she added. “They’re not just running in and grabbing a roast and running out. They’re like taking three-quarters of what you have. I just don’t understand it.”

Just like Palmer had indicated during her Fox13 interview, Gordon also said she would have gladly shared her food with someone in need if they had simply asked for it.

“We’re the kind of people that if you had asked us, ‘Hey, we’re super hungry, we don’t have anything,’ I would have happily given you a roast or two or or whatever,” Gordon said. “But don’t just come in and take everything that I’ve bought.”

“It does make you feel violated, but it also makes you feel a little bit angry that somebody would take something that you had to work hard to obtain,” Gordon added.

Speaking via telephone on Friday, Palmer told Cedar City News the worst part about the situation for her is the idea that she and her family can’t feel safe in their own home.

“My kids are afraid to even go out into the garage now, unless a parent is with them,” she said.

To report tips to Cedar City Police, call 435-586-2956 and reference case number C22-01487. To reach Enoch City Police, call 435-586-1119.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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