Seattle egg heist: Thieves strike cafe days after Pennsylvania theft of 100,000 eggs
- The theft occurred early Wednesday morning during a snowstorm, and the suspects fled before police arrived.
- The stolen goods were worth an estimated $780, and Seattle police are investigating the incident.
- Authorities in both states are still investigating the thefts and no arrests have been made.
Egg thieves have struck again.
Days after 100,000 organic eggs worth more than $40,000 were stolen from a distribution trailer in south-central Pennsylvania, two men struck a west Seattle restaurant's walk-in refrigerator around 3 a.m. Wednesday as egg prices soar amid nationwide shortages.
The men took an estimated 540 eggs and other breakfast items from Luna Park Cafe, Seattle police said.
Cafe owner Heong Soon Park told Paste BN on Monday that he arrived at the restaurant about 15 minutes after he was notified that the alarm went off and his landlord phoned to tell him that "something's not right."
"When I was there, I noticed a white van with two guys stealing stuff, including eggs from my walk-in that's located outside of my restaurant," Park said. "When I was trying to stop them, they kind of scrambled into the car and they fled the scene."
Video of the theft shows the two men racing back and forth from a walk-in refrigerator outdoors to a white van as snow falls before they make their getaway.
Men stole from the restaurant twice that night
When Park looked back at surveillance footage of the heist, he noticed that the men had made two visits that night. They stole a few things and left, then waited 10 minutes before they returned a second time, which is when they were caught in the act, according to Park.
The two men were long gone by the time police arrived at the restaurant just after 4:40 a.m.
"In Seattle that day, we had a heavy snow," Park said. "They kind of knew the police would arrive late."
The eggs the thieves stole were worth almost $390. They also made off with liquid egg products, bacon, ground beef and blueberries. The items stolen in the breakfast heist, including the eggs, were worth $780, according to a Seattle Police Department news release.
No arrests have been made but the theft is still under investigation, a Seattle Police spokesperson told Paste BN Monday evening. Anyone with information that could help Seattle police crack the case is encouraged to contact the SPD Tip Line at (206)-233-5000.
'Nothing we could have done,' owner says
Park has replaced all the locks and updated the restaurant's security system since the theft, saying that there was "nothing we could have done."
"It's something that's kind of rough for us to prevent situations like this in the first place," Park said
Park believes somebody knew where things were in the restaurant because they "knew what they wanted."
"They just took the food product that's more valuable these days, that's one thing," he said.
Pennsylvania police have yet to crack the case
Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, local authorities were still working the case of the stolen 100,000 eggs worth $40,000.
Franklin County District Attorney Ian Brink told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Monday that there have been no breaks in the case.
The theft was initially reported the night of Saturday, Feb. 1. The facility where the eggs were poached was operated by Pete & Gerry’s Organics in the borough of Greencastle, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
Pete & Gerry's said in a statement to Paste BN that it was "increasing our security and surveillance to help prevent this from happening again."
Pennsylvania State Police did not immediately respond to Paste BN's request for comment on Monday evening.
Contributing: Eric Lagatta and Anthony Robledo