Columbia police are investigating the theft of a catalytic converter from truck in the 300 block of Old Route 3.

The theft was reported early Wednesday afternoon, but could have occurred anytime within the past month, police said.

The catalytic converter was stolen off a black 1999 Ford F450 company truck.

Police are looking at surveillance footage and other evidence as an investigation continues.

A reason catalytic converters are stolen is because they’re valuable to scrap metal dealers. They contain precious metals, including rhodium, platinum and palladium.