VISTA, Calif. -- Sheriff's deputies searched Thursday for a would-be thief who dismantled copper plumbing at a private outpatient clinic in Vista, forcing about 60 cancer patients to skip radiation therapy, a newspaper reported.

The plumbing was found Wednesday in disarray at Oncology Therapies of Vista on Sycamore Avenue, The North County Times reported.

Office manager Beth Bourbeau told the newspaper that she thinks whoever dismantled the plumbing must have been spooked by something and fled before the job could be completed. Gloves and saw tools were reportedly left behind at the scene.

Because the plumbing was damaged, the clinic's large chilling unit, which provides the water needed to run two radiation machines, was inoperative and clinic staff canceled about 60 appointments for radiation treatment that day.

"I don't think this place was targeted simply because it was a cancer clinic," Sheriff's Sgt. Art Wager told the Times. "I think it was targeted because it was a commercial complex that was deserted in the middle of the night."

Had the copper been successfully removed, it could have been recycled for between $300 and $400, the Times reported. Repairing the plumbing could cost several thousands of dollars, Bourbeau told the newspaper.

A plumbing repair company worked through the night to try to repair the damage so treatments could resume Thursday. It was not immediately known whether the efforts were successful.