As a criminal case, it's puzzling. Sometime Thursday night or Friday morning a week ago, someone stole two computer servers from the Nelson Building at 401 West Second Street.

There are a number of University of Nevada offices in this building, including a billing office for the Medical School's university health system and those servers contain personal information on an undetermined number of patients. There was no sign of forced entry and nothing else was taken.

While university police pursue the thief, the school's administration is attempting to contact those who may be affected. They could include patients who visited the public clinic at the School of Medicine on the UNR campus or other physicians' offices in the Truckee Meadows or southern Nevada that are part of the University Health System.

There's no indication any personal information has been misused, but the university is concerned.

"At this point we're still assessing the situation, looking at the data," says Jane Tors, special assistant for media relations to UNR President Dr. Milton Glick. "If we learn there are additional patients that are impacted, we'll get letters out to them."

One of the unknowns is just how many patients may be affected.
"I don't want to leave the impression that it's all patients at the university health system. We're still trying to get our arms around how many it is."

Tors says letters are going out to patients, even, in a measure of extra caution, those whose information would not have included details like social security numbers. Those getting the letters are also getting an offer of a free year's worth of credit monitoring service.
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Meanwhile there's a crime to be solved. Investigators don't know if the motive was criminal mischief or a serious attempt at identity theft. They are hoiping for a lead and a witness.

The hope is someone, perhaps a passerby saw someone remove two of these servers--they are sized about like this--from this building late Thursday night or early Friday a week ago and that someone will call the university police or Secret Witness.

Secret Witness is offering a cash reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible. Their number is 322-4900.
Callers may remain anonymous.