An example of what the test kits look like. 

Update: A Tucson man wrongly suspected of stealing coronavirus test kits from a local medical clinic has been cleared of wrongdoing, authorities said Tuesday.

Tucson police are searching for a man who disguised himself in order to steal 29 unused COVID-19 test kits from El Rio Health Center on Friday.  

At about 8 p.m., a man disguised as delivery driver entered the building at 839 W. Congress St., and took the tests as employees were closing for the night, the Tucson Police Department said. 

The tests have since been replaced, but the theft has taken "29 testing kits out of the medical field for needed testing in the future," police said.

The man appeared to be in his 30s, five-feet-nine to five-feet-eleven inches tall with a full, dark beard and some graying, police said. 

Security video captured him fleeing in a red Dodge Charger.

"The stolen test kits are essentially useless to the suspect who stole them," Tucson police said. "These kits can only be tested in a private lab equipped with the proper tools for testing and reading results."

Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call 88-CRIME, an anonymous tipster line. 


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Contact Star reporter Shaq Davis at 573-4218 or sdavis@tucson.com

On Twitter: @ShaqDavis1