Osage County deputies arrest suspect for stolen property

Drew Buersmeyer
Drew Buersmeyer

Osage County sheriff's deputies arrested a Westphalia man Tuesday on suspicion he stole a truck, trailers and other equipment.

As of Wednesday evening, Drew Buersmeyer, 34, was being held in the Cole County Jail on a no bond warrant for theft.

Jefferson City Police Department spokesman Lt. David Williams said the investigation that led to Buersmeyer's arrest began with the contractor for the new Capital City High School reporting the theft of a dump truck Sunday. The truck was valued at $40,000. A second contractor at the same site reported the theft of a generator and multiple 5-gallon gas cans, with a total value of nearly $1,000.

Williams said police learned there was a video taken Sunday and posted to social media of the stolen dump truck carrying a disabled vehicle, stolen generator and gas cans.

"Numerous citizens reported seeing the stolen vehicle because of its odd configuration," Williams said in a news release. "Based on the witnesses' accounts, a suspect (Buersmeyer) was identified."

Osage County Sheriff Mike Bonham reported his officers learned Buersmeyer was headed to Osage County on Tuesday. Working in conjunction with Jefferson City police, they served a search warrant at 119 Pleasant Home Lane in Westphalia, where they said they recovered multiple stolen items, including the dump truck, trailer, generator and several tools.

While searching the property, deputies also found several wild animal pelts, prompting them to call Missouri Department of Conservation agents to open their own investigation.

Williams said Buersmeyer is also a suspect in multiple thefts in the Mid-Missouri area.

At the time of his arrest, Buersmeyer was driving a vehicle that was towing a trailer with a backhoe that had been taken Tuesday from a construction site in the 2900 block of East McCarty Street in Jefferson City.