Missing salamander reward upped to $20,000

A Texas blind salamander rests on a rock in an aquarium at the San Marcos National Fish Hatchery in November 2013. A Texas blind salamander rests on a rock in an aquarium at the San Marcos National Fish Hatchery in November 2013. Photo: Tom Reel /San Antonio Express-News Photo: Tom Reel /San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 56 Caption Close Missing salamander reward upped to $20,000 1 / 56 Back to Gallery

A reward to help find hundreds of missing salamanders now stands at $20,000 after a recycled metals magnate and environmentalist pitched in another $5,000 this week.

The Center for Biological Diversity said Tuesday that the Andrew Sabin Family Foundation added to the reward for information leading to the arrest of anyone who might be responsible for the disappearance of 353 Texas blind salamanders and San Marcos salamanders from a federal facility in San Marcos over Thanksgiving.

Sabin was the subject of an October New York Times profile that discussed his support for stopping climate change and aiding research about reptiles and amphibians while also donating heavily to Republican candidates, including President Donald Trump, who disputes the threat of climate change. Sabin has two frogs, a chameleon and a lemur named for him, according to the article.

The center also contributed $5,000, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is investigating the disappearance, offered $10,000.

Anyone with information can contact the USFWS’ San Antonio Office of Law Enforcement at 210-681-8419 or Operation Game Thief at 1-800-792-GAME (4263).

bgibbons@express-news.net

Twitter: @bgibbs