Egg-traordinary theft: $40,000 worth of eggs stolen in Franklin County

As the price of eggs continues to increase due to the largest outbreak of bird flu in a decade, 100,000 eggs valued at $40,000 were stolen in Franklin County.

A theft at a warehouse in Franklin County really has authorities scrambling.

Approximately 100,000 organic eggs were stolen from the back of a distribution trailer at Pete & Gerry’s Organics in Greencastle at 8:40 p.m. last Saturday, according to the Pennsylvania State Police. The eggs are valued at $40,000, making the theft a felony.

So far, no leads have come in, according to Trooper First Class Megan Frazer, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police.

“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.

Pete & Gerry’s Organics 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.

It’s no surprise eggs are the target of theft as prices for the product have skyrocketed. 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.

Bird flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023. Pennsylvania just had its first case of bird flu last month confirmed at a Lehigh County farm.

Just this week, the Waffle House restaurant chain instituted a 50 cent per egg surcharge in place because of the bird flu outbreak and drastic increase in egg prices.