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Stolen tractor cold case turns stinky

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, June 6 (UPI) -- A large, expensive farm tractor reported stolen in Manitoba in December 2010 was found hidden where not even a dog could find it -- under 15 feet of manure.

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The Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced they had made two arrests in the rural area of Fisher, 100 miles north of Winnipeg, based on an anonymous phone tip.

The 2009 Case IH Steiger 485 tractor worth $300,000 disappeared in 2010 and the case was all but cold when someone alerted the Mounties to its location last week using the anonymous CrimeStoppers tip line, the Winnipeg Sun reported.

It took officers several days of searching the property, but the tractor was found secreted under the massive manure pile, police said.

Mounties hired a local contractor to use an excavator to haul the tractor out.

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A 24-year-old man and 22-year-old woman were arrested and will face various charges after their first court appearances this summer, the Sun said.


Stolen laptop snaps photo of thief

ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 6 (UPI) -- Police in Michigan said a stolen laptop's owner used theft-protection software to provide them with the thief's name, picture and location.

Ann Arbor police said Logan Chadde, 21, and his roommate returned home from a night out about 2:45 a.m. Sunday and discovered items, including baseball hats, video games, checks, office equipment and a backpack with a laptop computer, had been stolen from their rooms, AnnArbor.com reported Tuesday.

Police Lt. Renee Bush said the laptop's anti-theft software took a picture of the thief when he turned it on and sent it to a Web site along with a screen shot of what the thief was doing and the stolen item's location. The screen shot contained a picture of the thief's Facebook page, giving investigators his full name.

Police said they knew the 19-year-old suspect from a previous investigation and arrested him. They said his name would not be released until he is arraigned.


Woman cleared in poop scooping trial

ASPEN, Colo., June 6 (UPI) -- A Colorado judge cleared a woman of a dog poop scooping violation, saying the rules she was cited under are unclear.

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Judge Erin Fernandez-Ely cleared Marion Lansburgh of Aspen Friday in the 30-minute trial on a citation for not picking up her dog's droppings March 13 near the bottom of Smuggler Mountain Road, The Aspen (Colo.) Times reported Tuesday.

Fernandez-Ely said the rules governing such citations are unclear, as Lansburgh was cited for the offense despite her husband picking up the poop when it was shown to him by John Armstrong, Pitkin County open space and trails ranger.

"There's the issue that, how could you violate [the rules if you picked it up?" the judge said.

She said the rules, which carry a $100 fine for offenses, do not state a specific time frame for how quickly the droppings must be removed.

"Because of the vagueness of the statute, and Mrs. Lansburgh's husband picked it up, I'm going to find [her] not guilty," Fernandez-Ely said.


Mich. man's 49.8-pound fish a state record

NILES, Mich., June 6 (UPI) -- Michigan wildlife officials confirmed a 49.8-pound catfish caught on the St. Joseph River is the largest ever landed in the state.

Rodney Akey, 46, of Niles, said he was fishing on the river May 22 with friend Will Skalla when he hooked the massive catfish and struggled with it for 30 minutes until he was able to bring it to land, The Detroit News reported Tuesday.

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Officials with the state Department of Natural Resources confirmed Monday that the fish, weighing 49.8 pounds and measuring 45.7 inches, is the largest ever caught in the state. The previous record, 47.5 pounds and 44 inches, was set by a Hastings man in August 1943.

"That record has been standing for almost 70 years, so it's a remarkable fish, that's for sure," said Scott Hanshue, a fisheries biologist with the DNR office in Plainwell. "I know there are other big fish in the St. Joe, but that one was a monster."

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