Nearly 100 Massive Koi Fish Stolen From Homeowners' Backyards In Howard County

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Something fishy's afoot in Columbia.

Three residents in the Columbia area have reported the theft of prized Japanese koi fish from their backyard ponds. The homeowners shrugged off the idea that a wild animal like a racoon, fox or great blue heron could've stolen the fish, because some of the fish measure upwards of three feet long and some of the ponds are covered with sturdy security netting that showed no proof that it had been chewed or torn through.

“They would totally leave evidence and they would not nicely peel back the net, take the fish and then replace the net," Mary Helen Sprecher told WUSA. "This leaves us with two-legged predators. This is not your normal burglary where someone steals a mountain bike or grill off the deck."

Steven Steurer of the Hobbit's Glen section of Columbia told police that some of his stolen fish he'd had for more than 15 years. WUSA noted that mature Koi can sell for hundreds or thousands of dollars, according to FishLab.com.

Howard County Police received three reports of stolen Koi fish since the beginning of the year:

• Report on 4/7/23 from a residence in Hobbits Glen, believed to have occurred from early February to early April (approximately 20 stolen).
• Report on 3/30/23 from a residence in Hobbits Glen, believed to have occurred on that date (50 stolen).
• Report from 2/15/23 from a residence in Glenwood, believed to have occurred in early February (approximately 18 stolen).

The residents have since installed video security to monitor their properties.