By Neil Offen

noffen@heraldsun.com; 419-6646

DURHAM -- The thief or thieves who stole cash from the cafeteria in Duke University's Levine Research Science Center didn't break into the safe.

They stole it.

Duke police reported Monday morning that the safe -- and $1,465 in it -- was gone.

"The room was secure and there were no signs of forced entry, but the safe was missing," said Assistant Chief Gloria Graham. "That means if the door was secure, whoever took the safe would have had a key or card access to the area."

The room in which the safe was located was last reported secure at 3 p.m. on Friday, according to police. The cafeteria was closed over the weekend and officers did not discover the disappearance until normal Monday morning rounds.

Graham did not know how big a safe it was, but knew that opening it would require a number code to unlock and get at the money within.

"I don't know how they're going to open it, if they don't have a code," she said. "And if they had the code, why wouldn't they have opened it already in the research building? Maybe they had to hurry."

Theft, the officer pointed out, is the No. 1 crime on campus. But this did seem a little odd.

"It's not something that happens all the time," she said.