[meteorite-list] Stolen Meteorite

From: Pete Pete <rsvp321_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon Oct 30 22:18:55 2006
Message-ID: <BAY104-F335530CB9E3253734C30CAF8F90_at_phx.gbl>

"valued at $1 million by US collectors in 1996", then simply kept in an
office cabinet of professional investigators? (not that this title
necessarily gives them credibility for anything)


...I smell a rat!

Cheers,
Pete



http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,20669940-5006009,00.html

Rocked by $1m space theft
By Andre Khoury

October 30, 2006 12:00


A METEORITE worth a million dollars, once at the centre of an ownership
dispute, has been stolen from a security business.

The space rock, known as the Binya Meteorite, was taken from a cabinet in
the office of professional investigators Austrace in Newcastle on Sunday
night.

The theft of the 11kg space debris follows a nasty dispute between its
original owners and the Insolvency and Trustee Service of Australia before
it was sold to a private collector in 2004.

The meteorite, which is believed to have come from an asteroid belt between
Mars and Jupiter, was discovered in 1981 by Terry and Trish Myers when it
landed on their wheat farm at Binya, in southwest NSW.

The meteorite, valued at $1 million by US collectors in 1996, was used as a
doorstop before its value was discovered.

Mr and Mr Myers, who now live at Hervey Bay in Queensland, were shocked when
The Daily Telegraph told them about the theft of the rock, which they claim
was unfairly seized by ITSA.

"Oh my God,'' Mrs Myers said. "You've just dropped a bomb. It was our girls'
heritage.''

Overseas experts say the meteorite is coarse octathendrite from a cluster of
iron meteorites, which are among the rarest known.

Senior-Constable Tony Tamplin said several internal doors at Austrace had
been forced open and rooms ransacked.

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Received on Mon 30 Oct 2006 10:18:51 PM PST