Macalester College thief strikes gold (and other rocks)

Macalester College in St. Paul is missing samples of gold dust, diamonds and other precious stones.

A Macalester employee discovered the geological samples were missing early Tuesday evening, said St. Paul Police spokesman Steve Linders.

The materials were housed in a case in the basement of the science building. No one at the college knows when they were taken, Linders said.

"They took ruby, topaz, copper, Lake Superior agate, quartz crystals and several other mineral samples," Linders said.

Linders said the items taken, while exotic, don't have a high resale value.

"Someone or some people apparently wanted these mineral samples, went in there and went to a great deal of effort to get them," he said. "It's not easy to get into a display case but they certainly were able to do that. Their motive? I don't know."

Police are asking anyone with information about the theft to contact them.