HUNTINGTON, Ark. — Thieves looking to make money are stealing catalytic converters out of vehicles in the River Valley.
Huntington Assembly of God was one of the theft victims.
“Started the van up and it sounded like a monster truck,” said Pastor Travis Pettus.
Pettus says they noticed the theft after starting one of the church vans Sunday morning to pick up members for service.
“He started up the van and came inside and said something is wrong and I came out here and checked it out…there was definitely something wrong with the van,” Pettus said.
Thieves across the county are stealing catalytic converters because they contain palladium, rhodium and platinum, which fetch a good resale value.
Data from Bloomberg shows just over an ounce of rhodium can fetch for tens of thousands of dollars.
Pastor Pettus says they aren't sure exactly when it happened, but it was likely done at night.
“Whoever did it is brave or pretty quick at what they did because no one saw them, so far that we know of," he said. "So that’s the sad part, they are coming in and taking advantage of people who are trying to do good things.”
A catalytic converter is a device that controls vehicles exhaust emissions and when it's not working or missing, a vehicle is loud. Stealing these is a crim that's happening all across the county.
“I know a lot of other small towns are having to deal with it but here it hasn’t really been a problem. It is something we are going to look into with the other agencies and see if there is anything we can find together and maybe figure out who is doing this,” said Officer Levi Thomas with the Huntington Police Department.
Pettus says they are thankful to a local mechanic who is replacing the converters for well below the typical cost.
“I would hope it wouldn’t be someone local. Most people around here who are local, you would hope to trust them and hope they appreciate what you do in the community but hopefully, if it is, hopefully, whoever it is either changes or gets caught…one of the two,” Pettus said.
If you have any information about this crime you're asked to call the Huntington Police Department.