Snake caper: Ball Pythons worth $30,000 stolen

Have you seen these snakes?

Police in central Pennsylvania are investigating the daring Wednesday morning theft of 13 rare snakes valued at over $30,000.

The serpents lived in a mobile home adjacent to their owner's house in Julian, a small town near State College.

Only the most valuable Ball Pythons were targeted, said owner Dawn Robinson.

"They passed up snakes that were only worth $400 to $600," Robinson said. "The thieves were definitely snake people."

The snakes, which can grow up to six-feet long, are valued for the exotic markings on their skins. They are not poisonous.

It was raining late Tuesday night when Robinson went to bed about 11 p.m.

When she went to check on them at 5 a.m. Wednesday morning they were gone. Two sets of footprints in the soft mud led to the mobile home.

"They went in through the window," she said. "They probably brought a big pillowcase and stuffed them in it."

Police are taking the caper seriously. Investigators took casts of the footprints and a set fresh tire tracks that could still be seen across the street at an abandoned gas station.

Robinson said she breeds the snakes as a hobby and several of them were family pets.

"My son's snake, a four-footer named Pinstripe, was one of the snakes they took," she said. "A bunch of the females were pregnant and due to drop their eggs next month."

Robinson has put up a $1,500 reward for information leading to their return.

"Sometimes money can make things happen," she said. "We just want them back."

Have information? Call Robinson at 814-280-5918 or police at 814-342-3370.

Contact Sam Wood at 215 854 2796, @samwoodiii or samwood@phillynews.com.