Men break into Horseshoe Curve as viewers watch live, police say

LOGAN TOWNSHIP -- Three men broke into the Horseshoe Curve historic landmark Sunday while people across the country watched on a livestream and dialed 911, Logan Township police said.

Virtual Railfan, LLC provides livestreams of various popular railroad sites across the United States, including the Horseshoe Curve.

Fans of the livestream said Sunday night that almost 200 people had been watching around the time of the break-in.

Police said three men are involved, and the video shows them squeeze through a fence, and one man briefly gets stuck.

Once they successfully get inside, the video shows them climb onto the historic train, and take a few selfies before opening a door, and reaching up to the lights or number cards.

Officer Tyler Prisk is investigating the case, and said Monday that it's unclear if they were vandalizing or stealing anything from the site.

He said a case like this is "unique" because the crime plays out live for people to watch in broad daylight with very clear video and audio.

"Supposedly, the names are on the live feed. We have not captured that yet we're still investigating that part of it," Prisk said.

He said the department plans to post the full video to the Logan Township police Facebook page in order to have the public's help in identifying the individuals.

The landmark's director, Cynthia Hershey, said Monday that she can't say much about this since the investigation is ongoing, but she said she's working closely with police to identify the men involved.

The Horseshoe Curve opened Feb. 15, 1854, and was engineered by J. Edgar Thompson, according to the landmark's website. It is located at Kittaning Point, at the base of the Allegheny Mountains.

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