ST. LOUIS – Phones went down Thursday Sept. 18 at the Clyde S. Cahill Courthouse, commonly known as the civil courts building.

It’s also the base of operations for the St. Louis Sheriff.

FOX 2 found AT&T was on sight, looking for where to begin making repairs after a reported copper wire theft. This while the courts scramble to keep business moving.

Joel Currier, 22nd Judicial Circuit spokesman, talked about, “…jury service in particular because trials are going to continue throughout the coming weeks.”

Fixing it could take a while–-possibly weeks depending on what crews find. That’s because the problem is underground, in a tunnel that runs under Tucker Boulevard.

FOX 2 watched as a police investigator went down to take pictures and collect evidence.

An AT&T spokesperson told us it’s offering a $20,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.

FOX 2 could see an example of what was cut, and it shows the tedious job ahead. About 1,200 individual wires must be reconnected individually.

We heard one worker say it might have taken a power saw to pull off this heist and maybe more than one person.

“The courts are working on setting up a phone line so that people can call in,” Currier said.

Currier said you might still get someone’s voicemail, but getting a call back or a real person is trickier. Currier said they’re close to having a temporary number for those with Clyde S. Cahill court questions that will ring at the Carnahan Courthouse.

“Once we’ve figured out the rotation of staff members who are going to answer those calls,” Currier said. “We’ll put that phone number out so people can call it.”

Neither the courts, nor the sheriff’s office report major problems from the land line communications blackout.

But there’s a concern about potential hassles, especially for taxpayers who don’t know why they can’t get through. Plus, the fix won’t be cheap.