LOXLEY, Alabama — Two arrests were made this past week in the vandalism of a Loxley corn maze in late September/early October.

The Barnhill Family Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch was open for its second season for just one week when vandals destroyed part of the maze overnight Friday, Sept. 30 or early Saturday morning, Oct. 1.

“This was just a senseless act,” said Ginger Barnhill in an October interview. Barnhill runs the eight-acre corn patch on County Road 68, just off Highway 59 in Loxley with her husband Gordon, her daughter, Jennifer Donovan Vought, and Gordon’s son, Phillip. “If it was someone just out for a joy ride, they could have used the paths we have staked out and there would have been no harm done, but they deliberately cut through and not only destroyed parts of the maze, but also destroyed the crop.”

After a month-long investigation, Loxley Police Investigator Lt. Doug Phillips reported on Tuesday that Dillion Franklin Guss and Jonathan Wayne Eastridge, both 21, were arrested in connection with the case, charged with first degree criminal mischief, a felony, and third degree criminal trespass, a misdemeanor.

“The media served as an excellent outlet for us,” Phillips said. “Through them we were able to get a lot of calls and information leading to the subjects being identified.”

Phillips said in talking to the Barnhill family, damage to the maze was estimated around $4,000. The Barnhills had offered a $500 reward for information leading to an arrest.

“The GPS layout alone on the facility was estimated to have cost about $5,000,” he said, “that doesn’t count the lost yield from the crop and revenue lost from the business, so that figure could easily be higher.”

Guss, who is listed on the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Department Jail website as being a resident of Loxley, was released on $500 bond. Eastridge, who has four prior arrests listed on the website, two with a Loxley address, but the latest with an Elberta address, was released on $1,500 bond.