CASSOPOLIS — At 4:02 a.m. on Thursday, June 28, an alarm went off at Dussel’s Farm Market and Greenhouse.

A man in shorts and a T-shirt with thinning hair had cut through the plastic exterior of a greenhouse and attempted to enter the main building through a garage door. After he was unsuccessful, he left the premises. At the time of press, his identity was still unknown to local authorities.

“He didn’t take anything,” said Mark Dussel, owner of of the farm market. “He didn’t take anything out of the garden center part — no bird seed, fertilizer or anything like that.”

He did, however, tear through about $500 worth of plastic lining when he penetrated the greenhouse.

Footage of the event was put on the Facebook page for the Cass County Sheriff’s Office at 10:53 a.m. that morning, with hope that someone from the community will see it and identify the suspect. The black and white video is 19 seconds long.

“A lot of people monitor our Facebook page because it gets the information out,” said Lt. Tom Jacobs, who helps manage the Facebook page for the Cass County Sheriff’s Office. “It’s just like putting stuff in the newspaper but you can put video up.”

At the time of press, more than 5,000 people viewed the video between the Facebook pages for both Dussel’s and the sheriff’s office. Thus far, they have received a few minor tips, but nothing significant.

For instance, one woman called because she thought it was a certain local man, but that was quickly dismissed because he is no longer in the area.

While this may seem disheartening, Jacobs said that there have been instances in the past where information regarding a suspect has come to light several weeks after a video has been shared on their Facebook page.

“It is hit and miss,” he said. “Sometimes we get good information and sometimes we don’t get anything at all.”

There have also been times when Facebook has helped the sheriff’s office quickly wrap up a case.

“One that sticks out in my mind is Cass High School had some individuals break in and do a bunch of damage,” Jacobs said. “They had video and we posted the video, and within a few days we had several replies from some residents who live in the neighborhood that recognize the kids in the video.”

If anyone does have information regarding the suspect who broke into Dussel’s last week or any other case, Jacobs asks that they do not leave a comment on Facebook. Even though they do check the comments, he said that it is not as efficient and it takes longer for them to respond.

Instead, he prefers that people calls the sheriff’s office tip line at (800) 462-9328. They can also fill out a Crime Stoppers Tip or call the Cass County Sheriff’s Office Central Dispatch and they will be forwarded to the officer that took the complaint or the detective working on the case.

“I urge people to check our Facebook page under the Cass County Sheriff’s office,” Jacobs said. “Check it frequently because we post some really good information on that web page on a regular basis.”