Radioactive material goes missing

PHARR - A box containing radioactive material stolen from a truck more than a week ago is still missing, an official from a Houston-based company said Monday.

A lead box containing a radioactive chemical was stored inside an F-250 truck stolen from the parking lot of the La Quinta Inn in Pharr on March 20.

The truck was recovered in Falfurrias on Sunday, Pharr police said. But the box containing the radioactive material was not recovered.

Gary Flaharty, a spokesman for Baker Hughes, a Houston-based oil and natural gas company that owned the chemical, said he did not know the exact quantity or type of chemical stolen. He characterized it as "low-level radioactive source."

He said the material is in a locked, lead box and is not dangerous unless the box is tampered with. A total of $2 million worth of tools was stolen with the truck, he added.

"If someone finds it, we'd ask them not to tamper with it," said Flaharty, explaining the box is clearly marked with a label indicating the contents as radioactive.

Exposure to large amounts of radiation can cause severe sickness or death, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Pharr police said nobody has been arrested in connection with the theft.

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Ryan Holeywell covers PSJA and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4446.