ROANOKE RAPIDS, N.C. — Investigators are looking into the theft of 12 bottles of embalming fluid from a Roanoke Rapids funeral home.

On Feb. 19, authorities said someone burglarized Hockaday Funeral Home and only took embalming fluid. The funeral home manager wants the bottles of the fluid recovered, not because they are valuable, but because embalming fluid can have lethal consequences, especially if mixed with illegal drugs.

"You know we've heard the rumors for years about peole soaking marijuana and different things," said Jay Carlisle, manager of the funeral home. "I don't know if it would kill you or make you sick or what the challenges would be. I wouldn't want to smoke it."

"I can't understand why somebody would do that," Halifax County Sheriff Jeff Frazier said.

Frazier is offering a reward that leads to recovery of the bottles of embalming fluid and the arrest of those who stole it before somebody dies from using it.

The Halifax County Sheriff's Department, through its Crimestoppers program, is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information that results in an arrest and recovery of the embalming fluid.