By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post
Thieves used a stolen pickup to break into an ATM at a south Salina financial institution and in the process also damaged the wall of a neighboring office building early Friday morning.
Just after 4 a.m. Friday, the Saline County dispatch center received a notification that an alarm had been activated at Great Plains Federal Credit Union, 2061 S. Ohio Street in Salina, according to Salina Police Captain Gary Hanus.
Officers arrived at 4:17 a.m. and discovered a red 2000 Ford F250 pickup on the south side of the credit union. The pickup also was lodged in the north wall of Salina Family Vision, 2069 S. Ohio Street.
Hanus said the ATM had been ripped open with the hook and chains attached to the pickup and the ATM. The cash box, which contained an undisclosed amount of money, was missing.
The ATM was destroyed. A replacement will cost approximately $45,000, according to Hanus.
Although there was no damage estimate for the wall at Salina Family Vision, Hanus said it was expected to be in the thousands of dollars. He also said that a City of Salina Building inspector did declare the building safe.
Using license plate registration information, officers made contact with the owner of the pickup, who didn't know his pickup had been stolen until the officers showed up at his door. The pickup, valued at $5,000, had been parked in the 2100 block of Linden Drive, a few blocks away from the credit union.
Hanus said officers were canvassing the area and had found a witness who reported seeing two to three shorter stature males at the scene of the theft.
Officers have checked surveillance video from the credit union and are checking the Salina Police Department's Flock traffic cameras for possible leads.
Hanus encouraged anyone in the area with surveillance cameras to check their video for suspicious persons or activity. If anyone has alerts or sees suspicious activity on their surveillance videos, they are asked to contact the Salina Police Department's Detective Division.
Hanus said the Salina Police Department has been in contact with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation concerning this incident.
He noted that while the department is not able at this time to definitively say who committed the theft, one possibility detectives are checking into is that an organized crime group was involved.
Hanus explained that information shared amongst law enforcement agencies indicates that such organized crime groups are targeting ATMs across the United States, including in Kansas. "Part of the groups' modus operandi, or MO, is to steal early 2000s Ford F250s to use in such heists."