98 stolen catalytic converters worth approximately $60,000 recovered from home

By KMBC News Staff

Click here for updates on this story

    JOPLIN, Missouri (KMBC) — Detectives serving a search warrant at a home in southwest Missouri were in for a shock when not only did they find what they were looking for — stolen catalytic converters — they found a massive cache of them.

Police in Joplin, Missouri, said detectives served a search warrant in the 400 block of North Walnut Avenue last week in reference to ongoing catalytic converter thefts within the city of Joplin.

While executing that warrant, police recovered an astounding 98 catalytic converters from the home — worth an estimated $60,000.

Police said in a Facebook post that this is the second search warrant police have served at this home searching for stolen catalytic converters.

The first search came in September 2020 and resulted in the recovery of 24 catalytic converters.

Police said during the investigation, detectives determined Pamela Sims, 58, was illegally purchasing catalytic converters that were believed to be stolen.

Thieves target catalytic converters for the precious metals — platinum, palladium, and rhodium — they contain. Most of the parts can be sawed off of a vehicle in under a minute.

Police forwarded documents for multiple charges against Sims to the Jasper County Prosecuting Attorneys Office including stealing and business license violations.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.