By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post
A landscaping business east of Salina is out $2,800 worth of catalytic converters.
Saline County Sheriff's Lieutenant Mike Ascher said this morning that sometime between 11 p.m. Wednesday and 6 a.m. Thursday, someone cut the catalytic converters off of two pickups belonging to Landscape Consultants, 1777 E. Old Highway 40.
An employee discovered the theft after one of the pickups was louder than normal when it was started. The rest of the company's fleet was checked and a second catalytic converter was discovered to have been stolen, Ascher said.
The two pickups from which the catalytic converters were stolen were a 2006 Ford F450 and a 2016 F450. Total loss was estimated at $2,800.
Ascher encouraged persons with information about the thefts to call the Saline County Sheriff's Office. Tips may be eligible for a cash reward through the local Crimestoppers program, he said.
"Catalytic converters are covered by the Scrap Metal Theft Reduction Act, so transactions involving their purchase by scrap metal dealers are regulated and must be reported to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation database," Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt concluded in a formal legal opinion published May 26, 2021.