Written by
The Sports Network
Fenton, MO (KSDK)--There's a new reason to guard your air conditioner and this warning doesn't involve people stealing copper. Thieves are now stealing Freon out of local air conditioning units to get high, and it could be deadly.
Eugene Holdenried wasn't quite sure why his home was so hot on a Monday evening with the air conditioner going like normal. The ac was blowing warm air leaving the temperature inside around 87 degrees.
"The ac kept running all night and finally after the sun went down I had to figure something was wrong with my ac," said homeowner, Eugene Holdenried.
A heating and cooling company later determined that someone stole the families freon and said valve covers were on the ground nearby.
It's believed someone came to the home during daylight hours, staying in the backyard long enough to steal 2 pounds of freon. Experts say a trash bag next to the ac unit suggested someone was abusing the inhalant, a practice known as huffing.
The cost of replacing freon plus the service call was about 150 dollars. The Holdenried family's ac unit now has locking service valve caps experts highly recommend to residential and commercial clients.
KSDK