An Oklahoma man died Wednesday night (July 31) while attempting to steal copper wiring, according to the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies received a call from Pocola Police around 9:30 p.m. with information from a woman claiming a man had been injured behind the Twin City Concrete Mill off Old Highway 271. Around the same time, the electricity in the area surrounding the Choctaw Casino went out, according to Major Kevin Nickson with the sheriff’s office.
Workers with Arkansas Valley Electric found 38-year-old Robert Sizemore lying unconscious by an electrical panel, Nickson said. Deputies found tools and other items leading them to believe the man was trying to steal copper wiring when he was electrocuted. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Deputies are now looking for 45-year-old Chuck Allen Weir, who they suspect was helping Sizemore in the attempted theft, Nickson said.
Weir is 5’11, 180 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He has relatives in the Pocola area, Nickson said.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, call the River Valley Crime Stoppers tip line at (479) 78-CRIME or the sheriff’s office at (479) 783-1051.
The woman who called authorities claimed she drove the man out there but had no knowledge of what he was doing, according to an incident report. Nickson said Sizemore had been staying in Fort Smith, but had relatives in Oklahoma.
