5 May 2023
SALINA, Kan. (KSNW) — Salina police say an organized crime group may be responsible for the theft from a credit union ATM early Friday morning.
Police say officers were called to an alarm at the Great Plains Federal Credit Union at 2061 S. Ohio around 4:15 a.m. When they arrived, they found an abandoned red 2000 Ford F-250 pickup truck, with a chain attaching it to the credit union’s ATM, that was lodged into the wall of the Salina Family Vision Care next door.
The ATM, which had been pulled out of the exterior wall of the credit union, had been pried open, and the cashbox was removed from the inside. An undetermined amount of money was stolen, but the ATM, valued at $45,000, is a total loss.
Courtesy KSAL Radio
Courtesy KSAL Radio
The truck had been stolen from near the intersection of Linden Drive and East Wayne Avenue. A witness reported seeing 2 or possibly 3 shorter men commit the crime.
Salina police say the crime is consistent with other ATM thefts that have taken place across the country by an organized crime group. The KBI is assisting in the investigation.
Last December, the same Credit Union branch was struck by multiple bullets in what appears to have been a random shooting.