Police in Virginia Beach, FL, are investigating the theft of more than 200 lb of x-ray film from a hospital, apparently by thieves who wanted to extract silver from the film.
Police said they were called to Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital on August 1 to investigate the crime. Detectives found that two unknown men entered the facility at 1:20 a.m. in an attempt to retrieve x-ray films, but they were denied entry by security personnel because they lacked proper identification.
The suspects later re-entered the hospital and approached an employee working in the radiology department. This time, the employee directed them to the film room, where they stole more than 200 lb of film. The suspects drove off in an old yellow Penske moving truck.
X-ray film theft is becoming a growing problem in the U.S. and Canada, the investigators said.
