By Ashley Thomas, Florida Courier: Daytona Beach - Thieves scaled the walls of a Daytona Beach radio station Thursday night and made off with 50 feet of copper, which temporarily knocked out the station’s transmission to the surrounding area.

WPUL Station Manager Larry Steele shows what remains of a copper pipe following a theft occurring at the Daytona Beach Radio Station. (Ashley Thomas)

The 50-year-old building, a site on Daytona Beach's Black Heritage Trail, houses WPUL AM 1590, the only Black-owned and operated radio station in the area, and the Daytona Times, East Central Florida’s longtime Black newspaper.

Officers from the Daytona Beach Police Department are searching for suspects. The building has been struck at least two times in the past, according to WPUL station manager Larry Steele.

The copper, which can be sold on a secondary market, can score high dollars when sold in large amounts.

The thieves "caused about $5,000 dollars worth of damage, for a couple hundred dollars worth of copper," said Charles W. Cherry II, publisher of the Daytona Times.

"They cut the transmission lines, which contain copper going into the building and they also cut the drainage line that drains the air conditioning from the inside to the outside."

“This is the third time,” added Cherry. “Without that, you can’t broadcast.”

Steele said the station was to be back up and running by Friday afternoon.

Security measures are being put into place to prevent further attempts on the building in future.

“That happens to radio stations in isolated places. It will incapacitate a place for a period of time,” added Cherry.

The Daytona Beach Police Department was not available for comment.