The owner and publisher of the Ouray County Plaindealer in Colorado expressed outrage after nearly all copies of their newspaper were stolen from racks on the same day that the publication ran a story about rape charges filed against individuals who allegedly committed the crimes at an underage drinking party hosted by the police chief. Mike Wiggins, determined to uncover the truth, vowed to identify those responsible for the theft and declared that a new press run was imminent. In a show of support, the community rallied behind the newspaper, with donations totaling approximately $2,000 and the return of a bag filled with stolen newspapers. Despite this setback, around 250 copies of the paper were available for readers in Ouray County the following day. Wiggins emphasized the importance of making the story accessible to the public, countering any attempt to suppress the information. While the thief managed to snatch most of the papers, Wiggins was relieved that the racks themselves remained undamaged. He suspected that the person who returned the newspapers was also the individual responsible for the theft and reported the incident to the police, who possessed surveillance footage capturing parts of the crime. The Ouray Police Chief, Jeff Wood, did not respond to requests for comment. Wiggins and his wife, Erin McIntyre, who have owned and operated the paper for nearly five years, reflected on a similar incident that occurred three years ago when their reporting on a local campground’s violation of COVID-19 restrictions led to someone tampering with a newspaper rack. The Plaindealer plans to address the theft in an upcoming edition and possibly explain their serious response to the incident, recognizing the unusual circumstance of reporting on their own newspaper.
Nearly all copies of a small-town Colorado newspaper were stolen after it published a story about charges filed over alleged rapes at an underage drinking party hosted by the police chief. The newspaper owner vowed to find those responsible, and the stolen papers were eventually returned. The suspects in the alleged rapes were teenagers, and the person who reported the incidents was also a teenager. The theft of the newspapers did not deter the newspaper from making the story widely available. The police chief did not comment on the matter. This was the second incident of newspaper interference experienced by the publication.
Disclaimer: Only the headline and content of this report may have been reworked by Newsearay, staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed. The Article was originally published on Source link
