Hundreds of dollars worth of apples stolen from local orchard this weekend, forcing business to have undercover security 

“We’ve done ‘pick your own apples’ the same way for the past fifty years,” Andy Lynd, owner of Lynd Fruit Farm remarked. “Cars enter in, pick apples, pay for what they picked, and leave.”

But this weekend alone, 6-7 people were caught hiding apples in their cars, trying to leave without paying. One family in particular stole $350 worth of fruit, hiding it in their trunk and crevices in the car. “They had declared one small bag, only $25, but my nephew watched them fill their trunk with apples,” said Andy. “We asked them to pop their trunk since it’s a private property,” and that’s when they found all of the apples.

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Andy said that they used to have employees driving around, watching for suspicious activity, intervening when necessary, but they got away from doing that. Now, they’re going to have to have undercover security in the fields again, monitoring guests. 

It might not sound like a big deal, but Andy emphasized that when guests get caught stealing the apples and they no longer want to keep them, he can’t resell that fruit. No other guests want the apples that have already been picked. Fortunately, half the people who get caught stealing usually pay for what they stole, and the other half first refuses until Lynd says they’ll have to get the Sheriff involved. 

“Financially, there’s definitely an impact,” he shared with 614Now. “There’s a limited amount of fruit in the orchard. It’s a huge loss. But bigger than the dollars is that we thoroughly enjoy raising a great apple crop and opening the orchard to the public, watching the joy people experience. It’s a gut punch when people think they can just take this.”

If you want to show your support and pick your own apples (and pay for them, of course!), visit Lynd Fruit Farm at 9399 Morse Rd. SW, Downtown Pataskala.

Andy has a final message for customers who steal: “You’re not welcome to come back. I know people can change, but people that we catch stealing, we want them to pay and we don’t want them to return. Theft is not tolerated here.”

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