Earlier this month, Helms Petroleum reported losing more than 1,000 gallons of gas to a theft at its Lakeport facility, according to Lt. Brad Rasmussen of the Lakeport Police Department.

Rasmussen said Sgt. Kevin Odom was dispatched to Helms' S. Main location on Sept. 11, where the business reported 1,083 gallons of gas went missing the previous day from a large storage tank.

The company reported there was a small fuel spill from the tank, but that didn't account for the large amount of missing fuel, said Rasmussen.

It also hasn't been determined just how the gas theft was accomplished, he said.

“It's possible that someone accessed their main storage stank and drained fuel into another large container,” said Rasmussen.

In the spring, there had been several gas thefts, with fuel being siphoned out of peoples' vehicles, as Lake County News reported.

Rasmussen said there was no pattern that developed in the previous thefts, which aren't believed to be related to Helms' situation.

Helms' gas theft is definitely the biggest, and Rasmussen said they haven't ever seen a gas theft of this size before. The gas stolen if valued at $4,418.64.

Rasmussen said the case is still pending, although they don't have any leads or suspects. “We're hoping to get some more information on it.”

If anyone has any information on the thefts, call Lakeport Police Department at 263-5491.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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