(KAIR)--Three more catalytic converters are stolen from vehicles parked in Atchison, bringing the total number of such thefts in 2021 to seven.

That’s according to a release from Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson, who says the latest thefts are added to the ongoing investigation.

The latest thefts occurred sometime between Friday evening and Monday morning, from two trucks parked in a parking lot located at 2605 U.S. Highway 73. Two catalytic converters were stolen from one of the trucks, while a third was stolen from the second truck. Wilson estimates the total dollar loss at $1,100.

In the release, he notes that while seven have been stolen this year, 10 were taken in 2020. Of the seventeen catalytic converter thefts, Wilson says 10 were taken from trucks, five were taken from vans, and two were stolen from SUVs.

According to Wilson, because such vehicles set higher, “thieves can quickly crawl underneath the vehicles and cut the converters from the exhaust system, usually with a battery powered Sawzall.”

The values of the stolen parts have ranged from $300 to $2,000 each, with the converters containing precious metals that can be sold as scrap.

Wilson, in the release, says the Atchison Police Department is “working with other law enforcement agencies in northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri who are experiencing similar thefts.”

Anyone with information should notify the Atchison Police Department at 913-367-4323.

According to an NPR report in April, the theft of catalytic converters has been on the rise across the U.S., with the National Insurance Crime Bureau saying that over the last three years, there’s been a tenfold increase in such thefts, partly blamed on the rising cost of the valuable metals used to manufacture them.