Spokane – An alert Spokane history buff scrolling through Facebook Marketplace saw an for an item that should not have been for sale last week.
The ad offered a plaque commemorating the the building of the Latah Bridge in 1913 for $525.
The history buff made a report to Crime Check. That report landed in the lap of two Spokane Police detectives who, according to the city, contacted the seller but didn’t receive a response.
The detectives did a little sleuthing and found the name and address of the seller. When the detectives contacted the seller in person, he insisted he didn’t know the sign was stolen and was in possession of a second sign illegally removed from the Marne Bridge that carries Riverside Avenue over Latah Creek.
The detectives left with both signs and returned them to the City Streets Department.
Police didn’t arrest anyone because they weren’t able to establish that the seller knew the plaques were stolen.
When 4 News Now visited the bridges, they found that bolts on the Marne Bridge had been sheared off, and the Latah Bridge plaque appeared to have been pulled from the concrete.
The city says reinstalling the plaques will be added to a growing list of maintenance work to be completed over time.
There are four plaques on the Latah Bridge—one at each corner. The other three remain in place.
Also known as the Sunset Bridge, the Latah Bridge once carried traffic from Highway 2 and U.S. Route 10 before the construction of Interstate 90. The bridge has since fallen into disrepair, with traffic reduced from four lanes to two and the south sidewalk closed.
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