METHUEN - Police are investigating the theft of 500 pounds of copper wire from a construction project at the town's water treatment plant on Burnham Road.

Brian Kilroy, site supervisor for Wayne Griffin Electric, a subcontractor at the site, told Officer Jason Lenotte his workers had finished pulling wire inside the new electrical building at the rear of the site, and had cut the wires to length once they were inside.

The scraps were gathered up and placed in a pile in the corner.

Kilroy told police there was a sheet of plastic covering an opening in the wall of the building, and that the front door was padlocked when he left at 3 p.m. Tuesday.

He told police when he reported for work at 6 a.m. Wednesday, he noticed a large hole in the plastic covering the opening, and that the copper wire that had been cut, was missing.

Kilroy told police both gates to the property were locked at night and only employees from the treatment plant and Methuen Construction, the general contractor on the project had keys.

Fred Conncorn, a site supervisor from Methuen Construction told police that his employees lock the gate, but that many people had keys to the site.

Conncorn told police this was the fourth theft from the site and that he believes someone working on the site is responsible.

He agreed to provide police with a list of subcontractors working the site.

The case was forwarded to the detective division for investigation, police said.