FOLEY, Ala. — With the price of diesel fuel edging toward $5 a gallon, diesel is liquid gold these days.

Foley farmer Kevin Murphy said Saturday at approximately 5 p.m. his tractor was “topped off” with diesel. On Monday morning, however, he discovered the amount of diesel in the tractor was down to 102 gallons, a loss of approximately 55 gallons.

“These tractors are computerized these days. They say how many gallons are in it,” said Murphy on Tuesday.

“We know it’s going to happen. Our exposure and risk is great,” said Murphy of farming today, something he has been doing since 1982.

Maj. Anthony Lowery of the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office said BCSO is handling “intermittent” cases like the one involving Murphy’s loss of diesel. He said recently BCSO looked into a case where a man had two sheets of copper stolen off his truck and the culprits also drilled a hole in his gas tank and got the gasoline as well.

A spokesman for the Foley Police Department said there has not been an appreciable increase of late in thefts related to such commodities as diesel and copper. Gasoline drive-offs continue to occur occasionally, he said.

Of one recent gas drive-off that led to an arrest, Lowery said the suspect showed his driver’s license just prior to driving off without paying for the gasoline. BCSO arrested him, Lowery said.