Lake City Police Department
Contributor
On Friday, July 21, at 4:52 a.m., officers from the Lake City Police Department were dispatched to an alarm at the Ameris Bank, located at 2357 W US Hwy. 90, in Lake City.
Upon arrival, officers discovered the ATM to be missing from its foundation near the drive-through. Drag marks could be seen on the asphalt leading through the Lake City Mall Parking lot, heading in a northeasterly direction. On-scene officers relayed the information to other responding officers. An officer observed a white utility truck traveling north, dragging an ATM, on NW Bascom Norris Drive. When the officer attempted to stop the vehicle, both occupants fled on foot into a wooded area. The vehicle had been reported stolen from Madison County.
Officers, with assistance from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, established a perimeter and called for assistance from the Baker Correctional Institution’s K-9 Unit to track the suspects. The Florida Highway Patrol’s Drone Unit and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office’s Air Unit provided additional support in an attempt to locate the individuals in the heavily wooded area. The suspects have not been located.
The thieves reportedly attempted to steal another ATM in Live Oak, but were unsuccessful.
Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrived on-scene to assist with the investigation as the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit processed the evidence. If anyone has any information concerning this incident, they are asked to call the Madison County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 973-4001.