The owner of an Alabama radio station said speculation he is responsible for the theft of his 200-foot radio tower is “completely bogus and false.”

Some memes and posts surfaced over the weekend taking aim at Brett Elmore, owner of WJLX in Jasper, suggesting he was the person responsible for the theft that became national news.

The station’s AM tower and transmitter were discovered missing on Feb. 2, which ultimately forced Elmore to shut down the FM station temporarily, because of FCC rules.

“Obviously people speculate about a number of things,’’ Elmore said. “Why would I do something like this when completely shuts down our entire operation, my entire livelihood?”

“Why?’’ he said. “Can anyone answer that question? We didn’t have any insurance so I’m not making a claim of insurance.”

The theft was discovered Friday when landscapers went to clean up the area, which is behind Mar-Jac Poultry.

The landscaper assured Elmore he had walked the property, and the massive steel tower was nowhere to be found.

“I said, ‘It’s a 200-foot tower. You would see it somewhere if it was laying around,’’ Elmore said.

The small transmitter building had also been vandalized, and the transmitter gone as well.

“It’s one thing to break into the building and steal the transmitter,’’ he said. “But it’s another thing to steal a 200-foot tower.”

The property is surrounded by about 50 acres of woods. WJLX has five acres on the edge of that property.

That tower was for the station’s AM site. The FM site is on the other side of town.

Elmore unsuccessfully sought permission to keep the FM station on the air why they make plans to rebuild the AM tower.

The estimate, he said, is expected to be six figures.

The Jasper Police Department is investigating. With Mar-Jac Poultry right there, Elmore is hoping someone saw something or that something was captured on surveillance videos.

He also pointed out that it’s a federal crime to tamper with a federally-licenses facility.

“I’m not listening to any of the rumors or the speculation of an inside job,’’ Elmore said. “That’s completely bogus and false.”

“I need help finding who did this, that’s what I need,’’ he said. “Someone knows something.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Jasper police at 205-221-2121 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.