In Bernal Heights, a late-night thief has turned a very specific target into a neighborhood-wide headache: the small sewer vent covers set into residential sidewalks. Neighbors say someone has been prying the 4-by-4-inch grates out of the concrete under cover of darkness, leaving neat square holes that are perfect for catching an ankle. Homeowners report waking up to bare openings where the metal once sat and have scrambled to improvise fixes with upside-down traffic cones, plastic lids, and rocks to keep people and pets from taking a spill. The mystery thief has already earned a nickname on the hill: the "Great Drain Robber."
Caught on camera, in and out in under a minute
Home security videos circulating among neighbors show a tall, slim person working with assembly-line precision. In the clips, the individual sweeps away leaves and grit, unscrews the hardware, pops out each vent cover, then drops it into a grocery cart before rolling on to the next address. Residents on Mullen Avenue, Brewster Street, and Montcalm Street told Mission Local that the same man appears on their cameras over multiple nights and that each removal takes less than a minute. Neighbors say he carries specific tools and wears a headlamp, which has many convinced they are dealing with a practiced operator rather than a random scavenger.
City inspectors out, homeowners on the hook
San Francisco Public Works crews have begun walking blocks in Bernal Heights to document missing covers and send out 30-day notices requiring property owners to replace them. Rachel Gordon, a Public Works spokesperson, told SFGATE that the city wants the sidewalk hazards addressed quickly, but that long-term maintenance of sidewalk fixtures falls to the owners of the fronting properties. That has not landed well with some residents, who say they already paid to install new grates only to have the replacements disappear again a few days later.
Police still hunting for the grate thief
Several neighbors say they have filed police reports every time a cover goes missing, but there has been no arrest so far. In a statement to ABC7, the San Francisco Police Department said simply, "No arrest has been made." Officers told the station they are investigating whether the thefts are all connected as part of a single series and are asking anyone with surveillance footage to send it to investigators.
Why steal vent grates at all?
The big question is why someone would bother. The grates are small, heavy, and not especially valuable. They bring in only pennies per pound at scrapyards, and nearby recyclers say they have not seen any surge in covers coming through. Mission Local reports that Zarc Recycling and other yards near Bernal Heights told reporters they have not been swamped with vent covers, while SFGATE notes that many of the pieces are made from low-value metals such as stainless steel or aluminum. Some neighbors have floated the idea that the covers could be getting repurposed as art or collected as odd trophies, but the speed and consistency of the thefts have others worried about a more organized operation than casual scavenging.
Neighbors try to stay one step ahead
On the ground, residents are improvising. Homeowners told reporters they are swapping in tamper-resistant screws, gluing covers down with epoxy, and painting or stamping their addresses onto the metal in hopes of discouraging theft. When that fails, the low-tech backups come out: traffic cones planted upside down in the gaps and heavy lids or boards weighed down with rocks. According to ABC7, replacement vent covers run about $20 each, a manageable hit once but a frustrating recurring cost when thieves keep circling back. Community meetings and neighborhood message threads have urged residents to call 311 and file police reports so inspectors can log the missing covers and order hazards fixed.
What to do if a grate is gone on your block
Neighbors are being told to report any missing vent covers to 311, submit a police report, and review their security cameras for anything that might help investigators. For now, people in Bernal Heights say they are watching their sidewalks a little more closely and hoping police patrols and neighbor tips catch the "Great Drain Robber" before anyone is seriously injured.
