The evidence is gone. The chain-link fence that the Kent County Sheriff's Office says was cut by a thief is now repaired. But the tanker with 10 wheels and more than 3,000 gallons of gasoline is still missing from Alger Oil in Worton.
"If 9/11 had not happened 10 years ago, you would just think wow someone is stealing the gas because gas prices are high," said Rhonda Cataldo, who lives nearby in Chestertown.
A spokesman with the sheriff's office says someone hot wired the missing truck sometime between 4:30 p.m. Monday and 7 a.m. Tuesday. Sgt. Glenn Owens says following the recent threat around the 10th anniversary of 9/11 "…there's greater concern it may be connected to terrorism."
Cataldo moved her family to the Eastern Shore to escape the worries of big city living.
"I actually moved from Northern Virginia because I felt safer living in Chestertown on the Eastern Shore after 9/11," said Cataldo.
Alger Oil is located on a rural road in the least populated county in Maryland.
At this point, law enforcement has no surveillance video to help with the investigation and there is no GPS tracker in the tanker.
The sheriff's office issued a statewide bulletin with a picture of the truck and notified the FBI.
Here is the license plate number of the tanker: # 310E03.
The Alger Oil trucks service the Upper Eastern Shore, Northern Delaware, Harford County and Southern Pennsylvania. The don't typically go out of that area.
You're asked to call 911 if you see a stolen truck.
The Kent County sheriff was out of town and not available for an interview.
Story seem familiar?
A nationwide alert went out for a fuel truck stolen from Leffler Oil Company in Lancaster County, Pa in early 2008. Click here for more information on that story.
Also, a Pasadena fuel truck carrying heating fuel was stolen in May 2008. With the then price of diesel at $4.99 and with more than 1,800 gallons on the stolen rig, the hijackers arguably got away with $9,000 worth.
But not for long.
Working with police in Baltimore County, investigators tracked down the stolen truck and its off-loaded fuel.
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