A safe stolen from a Hartland business early this week turned up in a river in Dakota County Tuesday &045; burned, drilled and destroyed.

&uot;I was more surprised that it was found than when I found it missin,.&uot; said Larry Nelson, owner of L & D Ag services, an agriculture-equipment manufacturer.

His business received a call from a Hastings man who saw the safe in a river and found the company’s name on documents in the safe. Nelson estimated the safe weighed about 150 pounds and contained mostly important documents like titles and tax returns.

It contained a little money, which might have been burned by the torch used to open the safe, said Deputy Chad Miller, who is investigating the case but hadn’t yet seen the safe Tuesday afternoon. He said the case was unusual because most stolen safes are never found.

He said the evidence in the case was tainted when the man who found the safe and a friend went through the documents and pulled the safe out of the river.

But the safe had apparently been doused in gasoline and burned, Miller said, probably to destroy fingerprints.

He said the man who found the safe should have called the authorities before looking through the safe or touching it.

Nelson said he plans on increasing security at his business. For now, that means pulling a car up to the front door, which he believes the thieves jimmied open. He said the company is looking at options.

He also bought a new safe. This one can be bolted to the floor and took three men to carry.

(Contact Tim Sturrock at tim.sturrock@albertleatribune.com or 379-3438.)