Cincinnati Police are investigating a bold attempt to steal an ATM in Mount Adams. Some wannabe thieves used heavy equipment stolen from two construction sites to try and strong arm the machine on Celestial. But it appears they got away empty-handed.
Local 12 News Reporter Joe Webb says some time around 5 a.m. Monday, the crooks slammed the ATM with a stolen front- end loader with forks on the front. It looks like they planned to just lift it out and put it in a dump truck that was also stolen...but things didn't work out and they left.
The loader was stolen from a construction site on Riverside Drive. Thieves broke out the ignition and hot-wired it with a screwdriver. It was only lightly damaged and back at legitimate, legal work this morning.
Police recovered the dump truck in a field off Wooster Pike late this morning. It still had parts of the ATM's plastic facade in the back. "We have no known suspects. We are canvassing the area and trying to find surveillance video. We are also looking into some similar offenses that have occurred."
Sergeant Fritz says he does not believe the thieves got away with any cash but Fifth-Third is still doing an audit. The ATM kiosk was knocked off its foundation and has been condemned.
