(La Porte County, IN) - There appears to be no end to the long-running string of catalytic converter thefts.

 

According to La Porte County Police, a man on Tuesday parked his 1995 Ford Ranger in the area of State Road 4 and 500 East. He returned about 30 minutes later to a loud exhaust system, then looked underneath the truck and discovered the catalytic converter had been cut off.

 

The previous day, an attempt was made to remove a catalytic converter from a delivery van outside a flower shop on Johnson Road near Michigan City.

 

It is believed the suspect in that case somehow got spooked and fled before he could remove the catalytic converter. Police said there was still damage to the exhaust system from work started before the suspect fled.

Catalytic converters are a hot commodity for thieves because of their scrap value from the precious metals inside the exhaust cleaning devices.