After thousands of dollars worth of wire was stolen from a grain elevator in Salina, law enforcement are seeking information from the public via the Crimestoppers program.

The Salina Police Department said a burglary Thursday at 300 E. Ash St., the former Western Star Mill elevator, was the site of the theft.

An unknown suspect or suspects entered the building, leaving with a "substantial amount" of copper wiring, estimated to be worth more than $30,000 according to police.

Metal scrap theft is not uncommon in Salina according to an email from Capt. Paul Forrester of the SPD.

"There is always scrap metal thefts going on (but) I do not think there has really been an increase (lately)," Forrester said.

Saline County Sheriff Roger Soldan gave a similar response, saying that his office hasn't really seen an uptick in copper theft recently, but that hasn't always been the case.

"We did (see it) a few years ago when the prices were way up, but that has slowed way down," Soldan said.

In a phone call made by the Journal on Tuesday, an employee at Allmetal Recycling in Salina said current prices for scrap copper range from 40 cents to $2 a pound for unstripped insulated wire, depending on the thickness of the wire.

"If it's insulated, they might be stripping it," the employee said. "That's how (they'll) get higher prices."

He said Allmetal is currently paying $3.15 a pound for what is considered No. 1 copper scrap and $2.85 a pound for lower-grade, No. 2 copper scrap.

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While scrap metal theft is not at an increase, Forrester said that another kind of theft involving metal has gone up recently.

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Converters are part of an automobile's exhaust system used to reduce emissions and often contain precious metals such as platinum, palladium and rhodium.

Russia is a major producer of metals such as palladium, so the Russia-Ukraine war has caused prices of that material to rise over the past few months.

Community members with information about this particular incident can report it to Crimestoppers at 785-825-8477 or the police department at 785-826-7210. They can also submit information online at www.p3tips.com According to police, tipsters may receive a cash reward of up to $1,000. The case No. for this incident is 2022-16434.