Spokane – An alert Spokane history buff scrolling through Facebook Marketplace saw an for an item that should not have been for sale last week.
The ad offered a plaque commemorating the the building of the Latah Bridge in 1913 for $525.
The history buff made a report to Crime Check. That report landed in the lap of two Spokane Police detectives who, according to the city, contacted the seller but didn’t receive a response.
The detectives did a little sleuthing and found the name and address of the seller. When the detectives contacted the seller in person, he insisted he didn’t know the sign was stolen and was in possession of a second sign illegally removed from the Marne Bridge that carries Riverside Avenue over Latah Creek.
The detectives left with both signs and returned them to the City Streets Department.
Police didn’t arrest anyone because they weren’t able to establish that the seller knew the plaques were stolen…