Couple Steals $10,000 Replica Baby Dinosaur From North Carolina Museum

A pair of North Carolina thieves took their love for dinosaurs to another level during a recent trip to the state's natural history museum.

State Police are asking for the public’s help to identify a man and a women who snatched a $10,000 dinosaur replica from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh on Monday, reports Raleigh's WRAL. The pair, described as in their 20s, was captured in security footage crossing a museum barrier to steal the replica of a Edmontosaurus hatchling. They then placed their dino loot in a bag and ran out of the museum.

According to authorities, the couple initially walked through the exhibit when it was filled with several museum visitors. Minutes after their first walk-through, they came back and the room had cleared out. When the room was empty, the man jumped the exhibit's barrier and stole the polymer resin model of the dinosaur hatchling.

The dinosaur egg may not be the only loot the pair stole that day. Authorities say they are also suspected of taking items from the next-door North Carolina Museum of History. That property totaled less than $1,000.

WRAL offered the following description of the bandits:

The man, believed to be in his 20s, has light brown hair and is about 5 feet 7 inches tall. He was wearing a dark gray T-shirt, white shorts with gray or green stripes and black and white sneakers. The woman, also believed to be in her 20s, has brown hair, is about 5 feet 6 inches tall and was wearing a pink shirt, blue shorts and ankle-high boots.