A nationwide security alert has been broadcast for a diesel fuel tanker truck stolen this weekend from a Lancaster County oil company.
The Leffler Oil truck was taken from a fuel station at 403 N. Sixth St., Denver Borough, officials said.
The truck was stolen between 4 p.m. Friday and 6:30 a.m. Monday, said Doug Woosnam, general manger of Leffler Oil.
The 3,200-gallon fuel tank was about a third full, Woosnam said. The highway diesel fuel inside has a street price of about $3.50 per gallon, he said.
The fuel can be used in tractor-trailers or any other diesel-powered automobile, Woosnam said.
Woosnam doesn't suspect the truck was stolen for terrorist use.
"This is purely economical," Woosnam said Wednesday night, suggesting terrorists would not need such a truck. He pointed to the 1995 attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Okla., which killed 168.
"As we saw with Oklahoma City, it only takes a couple drums of fuel. You wouldn't take something so large and obvious as this truck."
Homeland Security broadcasts an national alert whenever there is a fuel theft of such magnitude, Woosnam said.
The 1992 International Series 4900 truck, valued at $25,000, held about $3,500 worth of fuel when it was taken, according to Woosnam's estimate.
"There were newer trucks parked there," Woosnam said. "I believe whoever took it knew what was in it."
The person who stole the truck was familiar with the rig, Woosnam said, because the thief unplugged an engine-block heater before taking the truck.
"It certainly was someone that had some insight," Woosnam said. "Either they spent a fair amount of time watching our operation or had some other knowledge of our operation."
Workers noticed the truck was missing about noon Monday. The theft might have been noticed earlier, Woosnam said, but the truck's keys were still hanging on a pegboard inside the station, so there was no initial suspicion.
"The drivers came in and got their keys, and the key for that truck was there," Woosnam said. "(Initially) there was a presumption that one of our truck mechanics had come down … to take it for service."
The truck wasn't due for service, Woosnam said. "But the drivers wouldn't know that," he said.
East Cocalico Township Police are investigating the theft. Detective Kerry Sweigart is leading the probe.
The U.S. Departmment of Homeland Security broadcast an alert about the truck Monday afternoon to all police departments in the country.
The truck has Leffler's decals on the cab and on the rear of the tank, officials said. There are no markings on the sides of the aluminum tank.
Anyone with information about the missing truck should contact East Cocalico Township police at 336-1725.
E-mail: bhambright@lnpnews.com