Callaway and Audrain county officials continue to make progress in the investigation into a string of burglaries and automobile thefts in both counties.
"We're still recovering more property, and we're still taking burglary and theft reports and reports of stolen vehicles. ... We had a U-Haul stopped last night with more stolen property," Callaway County Sheriff Dennis Crane said Thursday. "We had several more yesterday (and) we have reason to believe they are connected.
"It's been ongoing; it has not stopped."
He said both the Callaway and Audrain sheriff's offices have applied for more warrants in connection to the investigation.
"We believe a lot of the participants are connected to each either," Crane said. "We have 30 to 40 people whose names have surfaced, so this is really pretty big, and very complex pulling together when you have multiple agencies and multiple reports to put together."
The case - which has involved the recovery of property ranging from guns and hunting gear to vehicles - was started when the Audrain County Sheriff's Office approached Callaway authorities on Sept. 13 with warrants to search property near Auxvasse that they believe held stolen items from their county. The Callaway County Sheriff's Office made a connection to a similar burglary near Steedman on Aug. 26.
That search warrant led to the arrests of Jay Hager and Cassandra Bolton on felony charges of receiving stolen property - Hager from both counties, and Bolton from Audrain. Hager has a preliminary hearing scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 18 in Callaway County Circuit Court. Bolton has a preliminary hearing scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 19 in Callaway County Circuit Court.
No further arrests had been made as of Thursday.
Anyone with information pertinent to the investigation is encouraged to contact the Callaway County Sheriff's Office at (573) 642-7291. Anonymous tips also can be made through Callaway County Crime Stoppers at (573) 592-2474.