Del Rio man arrested after ranch burglary on Jap Lowe Drive

A ranch burglary off Jap Lowe Drive ended with recovered power tools, a hidden backpack and the arrest of 52-year-old Edward Abendroth, a case that showed how quickly theft from rural property can turn into a safety concern for landowners in Val Verde County.

Del Rio Police Department officers were sent April 19, 2026, at about 6:20 p.m. to the 2000 block of North Bedell Avenue for a burglary that had already taken place. The complainant told police someone had entered a tack room on his ranch without permission and taken multiple power tools.

As he searched the property, the complainant found a tarp hidden in brush covering the stolen tools, along with a military-style backpack bearing a logo. That discovery suggested the suspect may still have been close by and trying to stay out of sight. The complainant went back to the tack room to get his vehicle so he could recover the tools, but when he returned to the brush, the backpack was gone.

That raised his suspicion that the man was still hiding in the area. After securing the ranch, he left the property and later saw a man walking near the 2000 block of North Bedell Avenue carrying the same backpack. During a brief conversation, the man admitted he had committed the burglary, and officers were called to the scene. Police identified him as Abendroth when they arrived.

The report says Abendroth told officers during a field interview that he had entered and stayed inside the tack room because of bad weather. Police placed him under arrest on a burglary-of-a-building charge, then took him to the Del Rio Police Department for processing before he was later released to the GEO-run Val Verde County Detention Facility while awaiting magistration.

For ranch owners and other rural property holders, the case is a reminder of how a break-in can carry costs well beyond the value of the stolen tools. A missing power tool can delay repairs, slow daily work and force replacement expenses that hit working property owners immediately. In a county of 47,835 estimated residents as of July 1, 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, losses tied to one burglary can have an outsized impact on an individual operation.

The Del Rio Police Department says its mission is to protect citizens and property, prevent crime, enforce laws and maintain order. The department lists a public report and request number at 830-774-2711 and a tip line at 830-774-8590. The agency has also handled similar burglary cases before, including a September 2021 investigation that led to arrests and recovered stolen property after patrol officers found a suspect vehicle at a local convenience store and later recovered additional property from a residence and vehicle.