Karen and Jack Hanson went outside around midnight Sunday night to find that 11 of their maple trees had been stripped of their bark and many smaller ones were broken or cut down.
The Hansons of 40049 Crawfordsville Dr. had gone to bed about 9:30 p.m. About 10 p.m., their dog started barking, but he figured it was just deer in the yard even though it might be a little early in the year for that.
About midnight, the dog started barking again, and Mrs. Hanson took him outside. That’s when she saw that some had shredded their trees.
The investigation remains open. Possible charges could include criminal mischief, a class-C felony, criminal trespass and possibly some other lesser charges.
“This was a very brazen crime and one that is extremely serious,” Sheriff Dave Burright said. “The person or persons responsible for this did this with the Hansons at home literally just a few feet away inside the house.
“I’ve seen where trees and shrubs been damage before” but not to this extent, “especially in the manner it was done.”
“They picked the right time of year,” Mr. Hanson said. “The sap’s running,” and the bark peels back easily.
The maples, stripped of bark several feet from the ground, will die, Mr. Hanson said. “I have no way of placing a value on them. How do you place a value on 14-year-old trees.”
Eleven of 14 maples were stripped. Mr. Hanson planted them nearly 14 years ago when he built his home.
“They were little whips, about 18 inches, when I planted them,” Mr. Hanson said. Now they stand 15 to 18 feet tall.
Three eastern poplars that Mr. Hanson had transplanted in 1996 from Wisconsin were cut down. Along with those, seven hybrid cottonwoods planted two years ago were broken.
To replace the maples, as they are now, would cost $2,000 to $3,000 each using a shovel to transplant trees of the same size. Eight-foot trees cost $30 to $75 in a nursery.
“Whoever would do something like this, I don’t feel safe being here because I don’t know what they’re going to do next,” Mr. Hanson said. He wanted to create some publicity about the incident and hopefully create some protection. With the word out about the incident, he hopes it can help identify the person or persons responsible.
“What I’d like to do is find the culprit and have him replace the trees,” Mr. Hanson said.