Police are still scrambling to crack the case after about 100,000 eggs were whisked away from a Pennsylvania egg producer. Approximately $40,000 worth of eggs were stolen on Saturday from Pete and Gerry’s Organics in Greencastle, according to a news release from Pennsylvania State Police, per CBS affiliate WHP-TV.
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Troopers reported that the eggs were taken from the back of a distribution trailer around 8:40 p.m.
“We take this matter seriously and are committed to resolving it as quickly as possible,” Pete & Gerry’s said in a statement to USA Today.
Pete and Gerry’s, a company specializing in distributing organic eggs from family farms to retailers, announced Thursday in an updated statement that it is “increasing our security and surveillance to help prevent this from happening again.”
As of Thursday morning, hard-boiled Pennsylvania investigators were still scrambling for answers, a police spokesman told USA Today via email. We imagine they are visiting every diner, Waffle House, and IHOP in the area in hopes of leads.
The mystery remains: how could so many eggs vanish at once, and what are the thieves’ sunny-side-up intentions? This writer suspects an Ocean’s 11 (or 12…)-style crew might be behind this egg-cellent heist.
Why the Pennsylvania Farm Egg Heist Hits Home
The daring theft took place amidst a nationwide struggle with empty egg shelves and soaring prices. With egg prices cracking wallets and shortages scrambling the nation, this bold egg heist has all the makings of a truly egg-cellent caper.
Of course, egg prices seem to be rising due to a perfect storm of disease and consumer hoarding.
Bird flu was first detected in a U.S. commercial flock three years ago, but the outbreak has recently worsened. In November and December, 17 million egg-laying hens were culled, according to the USDA. The situation got even worse in January, impacting 85 commercial flocks, including those with egg-laying hens. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the average price for a dozen large, grade-A eggs increased to $4.15 in December, up from $3.65 in November.
Panic-buying could be a contributing factor, as consumers scramble to stock up on a product they believe is in short supply. With egg prices rising and supplies tightening, some retailers are limiting how many cartons customers can buy to prevent stockpiling and ensure fair access.
Even Waffle House is slapping a 50-cent surcharge per egg on their breakfast plates, an egg heist of this scale feels like a blow to the gut for a nation that takes its sunny-side-ups very seriously.