[meteorite-list] 30-Pound Meteorite Stolen

From: Greg Stanley <stanleygregr_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:47:53 -0700
Message-ID: <SNT117-W4535B990CDE991DC24A70CD2F80_at_phx.gbl>

This seems odd: A 30 Lb Iron meteorite valued at $2,200; that's only 16 cents per gram. In any case, I hope it gets found.

Greg S.

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-web-montville-meteor-0826aug26,0,1462776.story

MONTVILLE ? -
            
            
            A meteorite has been stolen from The Dinosaur Place's gift shop.



Workers at the business, a nature activity center with a retail store,
noticed on Monday that the 30-pound chunk of nickel and iron was
missing, state police said today. The meteorite is valued at $2,200 and
is believed to have been taken Friday or Saturday, said Sgt. Chris Johnson, state police spokesman.



The Dinosaur Place, also called Nature's Art, has family-style programs
involving rocks, minerals and life-size replicas of dinosaurs. They
have gem and fossil digs, host children's birthday parties and sell
everything from jewelry to fossilized dinosaur dung.



Roger Phillips, who owns the business with his wife, Linda, said toys
and other items have been shoplifted in the past, but the Phillips
don't usually report them.



This is different.



"How many times do you have an object from outer space missing?" Phillips said Tuesday.



Phillips thinks a customer walked off with the meteorite during business hours; there was no sign of a break-in.


 He's been looking through surveillance videos to try to determine
who stole the meteorite, which had been found in Argentina. It is the
size of a cantaloupe and is black with a bit of a metallic shine, he
said.



"Something like this is unusual because of its weight," he said. "Of course, we wonder, how did they get it out of the store?"



He doesn't think this is a case of employee theft; there are much more
valuable things at the center, including a dinosaur tusk valued at more
than $20,000 and a 100-pound meteorite valued at $7,500. Of course,
they'd be even more challenging to steal.



He doesn't think the thief stole it for a quick buck. He suspects the person took the meteorite for a private collection.



"Would you tell the person who took it we would like it back?" he said.



Anyone who sees the meteorite is asked to call the Troop E barracks of the state police at 860-848-6500.
                    
                
                
            

            
                




            

            
                Copyright ? 2009, The Hartford Courant

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Received on Tue 25 Aug 2009 03:47:53 PM PDT