Is this a job for a hard-boiled detective? Will Pennsylvania police crack the case?
Someone stole 100,000 eggs from the back of a distribution trailer in Antrim Township, Pennsylvania. The thief remains at large.
Police follow up with witnesses. They scour surveillance footage. They ask the community to call in with tips. After four days, no leads have come in.
Trooper First Class Megan Frazer of the Pennsylvania State Police has spent a dozen years on the job. She’s never seen such a heist.
“In my career, I’ve never heard of a hundred thousand eggs being stolen,” she says. “This is definitely unique.”
Why poach eggs? The perpetrator probably doesn’t plan to make 100,000 omelets. Most likely, it’s all about the money.
A bird flu outbreak began in 2022. This avian influenza spells bad news for chickens—and for the farmers who raise them. They’ve had to slaughter millions of chickens every month to prevent the spread of illness through their flocks. Fewer birds means fewer eggs. Scarcity makes prices climb. Farmers also spend money on extra safety protocols, such as truck washes for vehicles entering their farms. Those costs also get passed on to the grocery store price tag.
In December 2024, the average price of a dozen eggs in the United States hit $4.14. That’s not quite the record high of $4.82 from two years ago. But the U.S. Agriculture Department expects the price to soar by another 20% this year.
The rising costs are hitting home cooks and restaurants alike. On Tuesday, the Waffle House restaurant chain announced that it is putting a 50 cent per egg surcharge in place.
“While we hope these price fluctuations will be short-lived, we cannot predict how long this shortage will last,” the company says.
All together, the stolen eggs are worth about $40,000. According to Trooper Frazer, that makes the crime a felony.
Will police catch the culprit? Or will it turn into a wild goose chase? (Okay, that’s not a perfect egg pun, but we’re trying here.)
In the meantime, if you see someone driving down the road with 100,000 eggs, give the Pennsylvania police a call.
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. — Ephesians 4:28
