3 students cited in theft of rare tree from UW Arboretum
Police in Madison have cracked the case of the conifer crooks who stole a rare tree from the University of Wisconsin Arboretum in November.
After a tip Monday, investigators zeroed in on three UW-Madison students who ultimately confessed to harvesting the tree while pledging to the Chi Phi fraternity, which has not been recognized by the university since 2015.
According to University of Wisconsin-Madison
police, the men admitted to buying a saw, renting a trailer and cutting and removing the tree.
When the vandalism was discovered Nov. 9, investigators also found a 12-foot section had been cut from a nearby Compact White Fir and left behind by the thieves.
“People love their trees and they were angry when this happened,” said UWPD spokesman Marc Lovicott. He said investigators counted on that outrage to finally lead to a tip, which it did.
Lovicott said when the students realized after the theft the tree was a rare 25-foot tall Algonquin Pillar Swiss Mountain Pine Tree, planted in 1981, and that university police were investigating the theft, they “destroyed” the tree and got rid of the evidence somewhere about 30 miles from Madison.
The students — Cameron Krahn, Cody Knepprath and Joshua Michels, all 19 — were cited under University of Wisconsin Board of Regents regulations for removing a tree, which carries a $200.50 fine. Knepprath is from Oconomowoc. Hometowns of the others cited could not be immediately determined.
The Chi Phi fraternity chapter lost its recognition at UW-Madison in 2015 for hazing that came to light after a student was taken to a hospital in late 2014. The university investigation found chapter members engaged in food deprivation, stints of hooded isolation and other acts that seriously threatened the health and safety of new members and resulted in one student suffering a concussion.
The Chi Phi house, which is owned by a group of local alumni, was located at 200 Langdon St.