Latest news with #MeganFrazer
The Independent
08-02-2025
- The Independent
Police yet to crack the case of who stole 100,000 eggs
Police have yet to crack a whodunit that grabbed the public's attention; the heist of 100,000 eggs from the back of a trailer in Pennsylvania. Four days after the theft that law enforcement say could be tied to the sky-high cost of eggs, no leads have come in, Trooper First Class Megan Frazer, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police, said.. 'We're relying on leads from people from the community. So we're hoping that somebody knows something, and they'll call us and give us some tips,' she said. Police are also following up with any possible witnesses and looking into surveillance footage that could help them identify the perpetrator as they race to solve the mystery. 'In my career, I've never heard of a hundred thousand eggs being stolen. This is definitely unique," said Frazer, who has a dozen years on the job. Bird flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing U.S. egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023. And it appears there may be no relief in sight with Easter approaching. The average price per dozen eggs nationwide hit $4.15 in December. That is not quite as high as the $4.82 record set two years ago, but the Agriculture Department predicts egg prices are going to soar another 20% this year. The 100,000 eggs were snatched from the back of Pete & Gerry's Organics' distribution trailer on Saturday about 8:40 p.m. in Antrim Township, Pennsylvania, according to police. They are worth about $40,000, which means this crime is a felony, Frazer said. Pete & Gerry's Organics LLC said in a statement that the company is working with law enforcement to investigate the theft. 'We take this matter seriously and are committed to resolving it as quickly as possible,' the statement said. U.S. egg prices are likely to remain high past Easter and well into 2025, largely because of avian flu, according to CoBank, a Denver-based provider of loans and other financial services to the agriculture sector. The highly contagious virus has affected nearly 100 million egg-laying hens in the U.S. since 2022. But CoBank said other factors are also causing supply constraints and driving up prices, such as skyrocketing consumer demand for eggs in recent years. Fast-growing breakfast and brunch chains like First Watch are also eating up supplies.
CBC
06-02-2025
- CBC
Thieves stole 100,000 organic eggs off a trailer in Pennsylvania. Police are scrambling
Police are scrambling. They can't crack the case. It's a Grade A mystery. But hopefully they catch whoever poached the eggs. OK, that's out of our systems. Police in Pennsylvania are investigating after someone stole 100,000 organic eggs valued at about $40,000 US ($57,000 Cdn), off the back of a distribution trailer last Saturday. Local law enforcement told the Associated Press the heist could be linked to the sky-high cost of eggs — an issue which has been plaguing the U.S. in the midst of an avian flu outbreak. According to the police report, on Feb. 1, Pennsylvania State Police responded to a call at Pete & Gerry's Organics in Antrim Township. The organic egg supplier reported the 100,000 eggs were stolen off the back of a distribution trailer around 8:40 PM. The theft is still under investigation and there have been no arrests, Trooper Megan Frazer, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police, told CBC News. She added the motive is unknown. "It could be to sell them or even for vandalizing purposes. When it comes down to it, we don't know," Frazer said. "This is definitely a unique incident, especially with the large quantity of eggs that were stolen." In a statement to CBC News, Pete & Gerry's said they're actively working with local law enforcement to investigate. "We take this matter seriously and are committed to resolving it as quickly as possible," the company said. They added they're increasing their security and surveillance to help prevent this from happening again. Egg prices soaring in U.S. Bird flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing U.S. egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023. The average price per dozen eggs nationwide hit $4.15 US, or around $5.92 Cdn, in December. By comparison, in Canada the price of a dozen eggs was about $4.75 Cdn in December, according to Statistics Canada. People in California were paying about $8.85 US — more than $12 Cdn — for a dozen eggs in December, according to the commodity data firm Expana. Americans have been posting photos of eggs on shelves, in some cases reaching double-digit retail prices per dozen, and comparing them to lower Canadian prices, though prices vary by store and region in both countries. Some store shelves are bare, and the ubiquitous breakfast restaurant Waffle House has imposed a 50-cent surcharge per egg, multiple media have reported. Why Canada is safe, for now, from very high egg prices In its 2025 food outlook summary, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says eggs "are the most volatile category" they track. The department notes the prices for farm-level eggs spiked 54.3 per cent in November. In December, prices were 134.5 per cent higher than December 2023. They predict farm-level egg prices will increase 45.2 per cent this year. Experts have previously told CBC News that Canada will probably not see a similar spike, due to its smaller farms and resilient supply management system. Food theft on the rise There have been a number of major food-related heists recently, which some analysts have linked to rising food prices. The annual global cost of illicit trade and fraud in the food sector is estimated between $30 billion and $50 billion US, according to a recent report by the World Trade Organization. As Bloomberg points out, years of rising prices have made food and drink items "a lucrative target for criminals." Just last week, Peel Regional Police in Ontario charged six people as part of an ongoing investigation into large-scale butter and ghee thefts in the area. Police say there has been a large increase in reported butter thefts at grocery stores in the region, with losses of more than $60,000. The cheese world is still reeling after a U.K. cheese heist in the fall that saw con artists make off with more than £300,000 (or more than $540,000 Cdn) in clothbound, award-winning cheddar. A 63-year-old man was recently arrested and released on bail. In November of last year, B.C. RCMP revealed they'd recently foiled an attempted cheese heist at a Whole Foods in North Vancouver. They'd been on patrol Sept. 29, 2024, when they found a cart full of cheese outside the grocery store. A suspect fled on foot, leaving $12,800 worth of cheese behind. The same month, thieves stole 400 legs of ham in Spain, worth almost $300,000 Cdn. Ontario butter thieves strike again with 'large-scale' robberies 4 months ago Duration 2:01 Police in Guelph, Ont., say there have been seven 'large-scale' butter thefts over the last 10 months, including two in October. The most recent cases resulted in losses of more than $900 each.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Someone In Pennsylvania Just Stole A Trailer Full Of Eggs
If the rising cost of eggs and empty shelves keeps you awake at night, you're not alone. Employees at Pete & Gerry's Organics in Greencastle, Pennsylvania went to work on Sunday morning to discover that an entire distribution trailer carrying over 100,000 eggs was stolen from the property. Given the high demand and astronomical cost of eggs these days, that's about $40,000 worth of merchandise. Even though eggs aren't usually the most stolen food in the world, the little golden-yolk beauties have become a hot commodity. Outbreaks of the avian flu, otherwise known as H5N1, have created major supply chain issues and shortages of eggs on grocery store shelves, like the current shortage at Whole Foods. The thieves who stole the eggs from Pete & Gerry's Organics completed the act at about 8:40 p.m. on Saturday, February 1, according to Pennsylvania State Police and have yet to be found. "The thieves could sell them or even use them for vandalizing purposes," Trooper Megan Frazer, a Pennsylvania State Police spokeswoman, told the New York Times in an email this week. "We don't know what purpose of stealing 100,000 would be for at this time. With the extreme increased price of eggs, someone may have thought they could sell them." Read more: 13 Tips From Celebrity Chefs For All Your Egg Needs General panic about egg availability and cost stems from a multi-year outbreak of the avian flu among American poultry. The highly contagious avian influenza has led to the culling of over 150 million egg-laying chickens throughout all 50 states, with no corner of the country left unscathed. The number of birds affected by H5N1 continues to increase, with over 23 million confirmed cases in January 2025 alone. The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts a 20% increase in egg prices over the coming year. Soaring egg prices have caused breakfast chains like Waffle House to tag an additional 50-cent charge per egg that they serve — not exactly a great way to start the morning. As for the great Pennsylvania egg heist this month, the trail has reportedly (or at least publicly) gone cold. Pete & Gerry's Organics claims to be modernizing its surveillance and altering the way it handles security, to "help prevent this from happening again." People on the internet are hatching their own theories about the egg thieves, pointing out that it couldn't have been too easy to drive away unscathed with an entire truck full of eggs. Police are working diligently to crack the case, with promises to update the public once the egg thieves are brought to justice. Read the original article on Tasting Table.
The Guardian
06-02-2025
- The Guardian
Thieves steal 100,000 eggs from trailer in Pennsylvania as prices spike
Police in Pennsylvania are hunting for thieves who stole 100,000 eggs from the back of a trailer, amid a US-wide spike in the price of eggs that has triggered panic-buying in some shops. The eggs were lifted from the back of Pete & Gerry's Organics' distribution trailer on Saturday at about 8.40pm in Antrim township, according to police. There have been no arrests yet. 'We're relying on leads from people from the community. So we're hoping that somebody knows something, and they'll call us and give us some tips,' Megan Frazer of the Pennsylvania state police told the Associated Press. 'In my career, I've never heard of 100,000 eggs being stolen. This is definitely unique,' said Frazer, a 12-year veteran of law enforcement. Bird flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing US egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023. Waffle House, the Georgia-based restaurant chain, said it was adding a 50 cent charge per egg, blaming the 'continuing egg shortage caused by HPAI (bird flu)'. On the campaign trail Donald Trump repeatedly vowed that on his first day in office he would 'immediately bring prices down' for food. The average price per dozen eggs nationwide hit $4.15 in December. That is not quite as high as the $4.82 record set two years ago, but the Agriculture department predicts egg prices are going to soar another 20% this year.
Asharq Al-Awsat
06-02-2025
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Heist of 100,000 Eggs in US Becomes Whodunit that Police Have Yet to Crack
The heist of 100,000 eggs from the back of a trailer in Pennsylvania has become a whodunit that police have yet to crack. Four days after the theft that law enforcement say could be tied to the sky-high cost of eggs, no leads have come in, Trooper First Class Megan Frazer, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police, said Wednesday. 'We're relying on leads from people from the community. So we're hoping that somebody knows something, and they'll call us and give us some tips,' she said. Police are also following up with any possible witnesses and looking into surveillance footage that could help them identify the perpetrator as they race to solve the mystery. 'In my career, I've never heard of a hundred thousand eggs being stolen. This is definitely unique," said Frazer, who has a dozen years on the job. Bird flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing US egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023. And it appears there may be no relief in sight with Easter approaching. The average price per dozen eggs nationwide hit $4.15 in December. That is not quite as high as the $4.82 record set two years ago, but the Agriculture Department predicts egg prices are going to soar another 20% this year. The 100,000 eggs were snatched from the back of Pete & Gerry's Organics' distribution trailer on Saturday about 8:40 p.m. in Antrim Township, according to police. They are worth about $40,000, which means this crime is a felony, Frazer said. Pete & Gerry's Organics LLC said in a statement that the company is working with law enforcement to investigate the theft. 'We take this matter seriously and are committed to resolving it as quickly as possible,' the statement said.
