Police are searching for the thieves who they say are responsible for cutting cables off Wallkill telephones poles to steal copper.

According to police, the thefts left hundreds of residents without phone service and also hurt local businesses. The proprietor of Bill D's Auto Repair says the thefts disrupted his Internet service, rendering him unable to forward information needed for billing to the Department of Motor Vehicles and costing him business.

Frontier Communications, the local telecommunications company that owns the cables, is asking anyone with information on the thefts to call its security team.