Police seek ATM thieves who dragged it down road with stolen truck

LAKE CITY, Fla. — Suspects who stole an ATM in a north Florida city and attached it to the back of a utility truck left a conspicuous trail, as the heavy machine left drag marks in the road, authorities said.

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In a news release, the Lake City Police Department said officers responded to an alarm at Ameris Bank on U.S. 90 in Lake City at 4:52 a.m. EDT on Friday.

Officers discovered that an ATM was missing from its foundation near the drive-thru of the bank, the release stated.

Police observed drag marks on the asphalt leading northeast through the parking lot of the Lake City Mall, WJAX-TV reported.

Officers at the scene relayed the information to other officers, according to the television station.

Moments later, an officer noticed a white utility truck traveling north on NW Bascom Norris Drive and dragging an ATM, police said.

When an officer attempted to stop the bucket truck, the driver and a passenger exited the vehicle and fled the area on foot.

The vehicle had been reported stolen from nearby Madison County, police said.

Police shared a photograph of the truck on the shoulder of the road with a heavily damaged ATM behind it, the Miami Herald reported. The vehicle was found about a half-mile from the bank, according to the newspaper.

Agents from the FBI are involved in the investigation, along with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, WJAX reported. The Lake City Police Department and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office are also assisting.

The suspects have not been located, police said.

Police did not say how much money, if any, was taken from the ATM.