Several items stolen from Omaha Bee Club Apiary

By Jill Lamkins

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    OMAHA, Nebraska (KMTV) — Hidden away in a local cemetery, the Omaha Bee Club has an apiary dedicated to helping newcomers try out beekeeping. But after a theft, the board of directors were left shocked when all these items were taken: A riding lawn mower, weed wacker, two new honey extractors, ramps, a tent and five gallons of gasoline.

“Disappointment was probably the biggest thing,” said Kristine McCreedy, the vice president of operations for the Omaha Bee Club.

The incident happened between Saturday, Sept. 16, and Tuesday, Sept. 19. McCreedy was last at the apiary that Saturday before the incident occurred. Days later, the apiary coordinator opened one of the sheds and notified Omaha Police of the missing property.

“People take turns mowing, we have volunteers and she [the apiary coordinator] noticed that when she got here and opened the shed, there wasn’t – the equipment was gone,” said McCreedy.

The most expensive items they’ll have to replace are the John Deer lawn mower and the HillCo Electric 6-frame extractors.

“There’s only a small percentage of people that are beekeepers that would even need extractors, maybe the lawn mower someone could use but these extractors, they’re only good for one thing and that’s to extract honey.”

Only six people have key access to the sheds and police said it’s unknown how the padlock was opened.

“They were pretty careful with the locks and they shut everything back up so it looked like nothing happened,” said McCreedy.

Police are on the lookout for potential pawning and will be alerted if they find something. Without video surveillance though, they told 3 News Now they’ve done everything they can up to this point.

“Thankfully the honey flow is over so we don’t need to get those right away – the extractors – but we, we will have to replace them,” said McCreedy.

Extractors can cost anywhere from $300-$1,500, so McCreedy said they hope they can find some answers soon. The lawn mower is a John Deer Model L-120 with black tape on the seat and the extractors are HillCo electric 6-frames.

Notify Omaha Crime Stoppers at 402-444-7867 with any tips.

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