50,000 Apples Stolen From Northwest Indiana Orchard

LA PORTE, Ind. (CBS) -- Fifty thousand apples were recently stolen from an apple orchard in Northwest Indiana.

The owner of the Williams Orchard in LaPorte County discovered an entire section of trees picked clean. The apples that disappeared were worth $30,000.

Owners believe the thieves put down tarps and shook the trees, hauling apples away.

"I still can't believe it," said orchard owner Jon Drummond. "There's just so many apples gone."

The stolen apples were actually only about 5 percent of the orchard's crop.

The owner said they had just recently installed a new fence, but had not put the locks in yet.

The owner thinks whoever took such a large amount was probably trying to make applesauce or cider.

In:
• Indiana