Two or more thieves robbed ATMs at two bank locations in Salem and attempted to rob a third during the early hours of Monday morning, according to the Salem Police Department.
On Sept. 28, an ATM break-in occurred at West Plains Bank and Trust Co. in Mountain View. A stolen truck from Summersville was found nearby. The thieves were not to be found.
According to a press release from the department, officers responded to an ATM alarm at Progressive Ozark Bank. When the officers arrived, they discovered that the ATM had been broken into and the cash boxes removed. A short time later officers discovered a truck that had been used to facilitate the theft. The vehicle had been abandoned less than four blocks from the location of the theft.
Officers discovered that during the same time, the Riverways ATM on Highway 19 had been broken into as well, and those cash boxes had also been removed.
An officer also discovered that there had been another attempt to rob the ATM at Town & Country Bank’s east location on Scenic Rivers Boulevard, though nothing was reported stolen from that ATM. Damage had been done to the face of the machine, but the theft was unsuccessful.
According to Salem Chief of Police Joe Chase, officials are working with the banks to determine how much money was stolen during the heist and to identify suspects. The case remains under investigation.