Police are searching for a gold nugget stolen from a museum at the University of Arizona. The chunk is worth $30,000.
The gold was on display at U of A’s Flandrau Planetarium when it was reported missing on Saturday. It was part of a traveling exhibit of rocks and minerals from Australia.
U of A Police Sgt. Filbert Barrera said the nugget is unusually large.
"It’s about 3.5 inches by 1.5 inches. It also weighs about seven ounces or almost a half of pound. So basically about a half a pound of gold. A lot of museum enthusiasts know about this nugget," Barrera said.
Security is tight at the Flandrau, and Barrera said Tucson detectives have a good idea how it was stolen but they aren’t sharing any details. U of A police are urging anyone with information to contact them immediately.