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As Ohio River levels rise, so do concerns of looting

Jeff Cooper uses a kayak to get in and out of his neighborhood, but he says Thursday morning, someone carried it away.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jeff Cooper can't grasp why anyone would take advantage of his vulnerability.

"Kicking a man when he's down and that just gets lower to me," he said. 

His Prospect, Kentucky home sits on the Ohio River.  The views are what brought him here, but winter and spring bring flooding concerns.

"The thieves come down here. They know they have hours to go through and ransack," he explains. 

He's also concerned about looting, which is why he always decides to stay and protect his home.  "They know police aren't going to come down and catch them," Cooper told WHAS11.

Cooper uses a kayak to get in and out of his neighborhood, but he says Thursday morning, someone carried it away.  He knows it didn't float away because the waters haven't yet reached his home and it was tied down.

"I feel violated, really violated because you know a thief to me is the lowest form of a human being," he said. 

Cooper says it isn't the first time homes have been targeted on his street. He's lived in Prospect for 24 years and says when the water levels rise, so does the temptation for thieves.  "Another time, I caught them before they got in," he said.

A friend of his gave him another kayak to use in the meantime as he plans to keep watch over the waters and his home.

"There's very few properties even left on the river anymore in Jefferson County and I am lucky to have one of them," he said. 

LMPD is also looking into claims of other stolen property within Cooper's neighborhood.  The agency's River Patrol Unit is monitoring the area.  Cooper says he also had two power saws and a generator stolen. 

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