( CNN ) Gold bars . Each weighed between 25 and 27 pounds , together about 275 pounds . The bars ' total weight in gold is worth about $ 4.8 million . That much adds up . But what about the story of how they got swiped on Sunday from a truck alongside Interstate 95 in North Carolina ? Investigators are trying to figure that out , including how two armed security guards could have been so quickly pounced upon , bound and then robbed so soon after pulling over in Wilson County , as they 've told authorities . `` There 's suspicion about everything going on in this case , '' Wilson County Sheriff Calvin Woodard Jr. said Wednesday in a news conference about the case . He also released composite sketches of two of the three suspects , one of whom he described as a heavyset Hispanic male with a Cuban accent and the other as a dark-skinned Hispanic male with a white mustache and goatee who was dressed in black . He showed reporters a photo of the white van they allegedly got away in , as well as an image of the traffic cones they used -- which came from a Florida company that does n't do business in North Carolina . What he could n't say definitively was whether these men had some help . There are a lot of questions , in fact , that ca n't be answered . Authorities say the initial statements from the two guards who work for TransValue Inc. , a Florida-based company that transports valuables , were a bit confusing due to the guards ' spotty English , though Woodward said police now have a clearer picture after bringing in Spanish-speakers to translate . These two men , both of whom have worked for TransValue for several years , set off early Sunday morning from Miami with a truck full of gold protected by a padlock and presumably their firearms . They were headed for Bridgewater , Massachusetts , `` to a place ... where they handled such things , '' Woodard explained . They stopped to get gas in Dillon , South Carolina , then hit the interstate once again . The guards later told police they smelled gas , with one of them getting sick . So they pulled over . That leads to the first big question about the men 's story : Did something happen to their vehicle to cause the gas smell ? Not according to a Wilson County mechanic , who `` did not determine any type of issues '' with the truck , according to Woodard . So the sicker guard gets out of the vehicle . He says he 's quickly met by two suspects , who yell out , `` Policia , policia . '' They ask him to go to the ground then tie him up with three zip ties , according to Woodard . After this , the other guard gets out of the vehicle . He encounters the same men -- one of them wearing a red traffic vest -- who repeat that they are police . He says that he , too , eventually gets to the ground and is bound with duck tape . But were n't these armed guards ? Yes and no . Neither man had a gun on them when they exited their vehicle , violating their company 's protocol , the sheriff said . And did anyone see them get bound and led into the nearby woods ? No , at least no one who has contacted police . But people called authorities around 6:49 p.m. Sunday after they spotted the men , still bound , coming out of the woods , according to Woodard . By then , the $ 4.8 million in gold and the three men suspected of taking it were gone . That 's left authorities trying to track those valuables down and piece together exactly what happened . Investigators have already gone to South Carolina , and they 're getting help from the FBI . They 're all working to get information out of places between Florida and North Carolina , to try to corroborate the guards ' stories and uncover any evidence that might identify the suspected thieves . Woodard says TransValue has been `` very cooperative '' in the investigation , as have the company 's two guards . Neither was injured beyond some scratches on their legs from going into the woods . `` Right now , ( the guards ) are still considered victims , '' Woodard said , declining to answer whether or not authorities believe this was an inside job . `` ... But we 're investigating every avenue . ''
A truck filled with gold bars pulled over alongside Interstate 95 in North Carolina . Two guards say they were both bound by men claiming to be police . Authorities are trying to determine if it may have been an inside job .