NASA Investigators Nab Woman Trying To Sell Moon Rock For $1.7M
LAKE ELSINORE (CBS/AP) — Authorities detained a woman accused of trying to sell a moon rock for $1.7 million.
The Riverside County sheriff's department says the woman was arrested Thursday during an undercover meeting at a Lake Elsinore restaurant where she showed the rock to an undercover NASA investigator. The rock has been recovered.
KNX 1070's Chris Sedens reports that NASA had been investigating the case for several months.
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Authorities haven't released the identity of the woman or details on how she obtained the rock.
The woman was questioned by NASA investigators and apparently released.
Moon rocks are considered national treasures that cannot be sold. Nearly 300 rocks collected during the Apollo missions of the 1960s and '70s were transported back to Earth. Each of the 50 states received one, as well as dignitaries from more than 100 countries, according to published reports.
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