In the quiet hours of an October morning, a bold and bizarre heist unfolded at the Mutual 1st Federal Credit Union near 182nd Avenue and West Maple Road. Someone with a knack for heavy machinery used a telehandler forklift to yank an entire drive-thru ATM straight out of the ground. They loaded it into a stolen U-Haul truck and vanished into the night, cash and all.
The heist happened around 2:30 a.m. on October 24, 2024. Authorities are still searching for leads and asking the public for help in cracking the case.
“We’ve seen ATM break-ins before,” said Capt. Eric Sellers of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. “But an entire ATM ripped out of the ground? That’s rare. It’s something you hear about, but not often see.”
Despite months of investigating, detectives are hitting dead ends. Surveillance footage hasn’t been enough to identify the suspects, and the trail is growing cold. “We’ve tried everything we can to figure out who’s behind this,” Sellers explained. “Now, we’re turning to the public for tips.”
Whoever pulled off this heist clearly had a plan. Sellers suspects they scouted the area, knew about the nearby construction site with the forklift, and specifically targeted the ATM. Even the U-Haul truck seemed carefully chosen to fit the bulky machine.
“They were determined,” Sellers added. “This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment thing. It was planned out from start to finish.”
Months later, the credit union still hasn’t replaced the ATM, and investigators believe at least two people were involved. While this crime appears to be an isolated incident, authorities haven’t ruled out the possibility that the suspects are linked to other thefts in the area.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is urging anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers. “Even a small tip could help,” Sellers said. “It might not lead to the suspect right away, but it could be the piece we need to solve this.”
For now, the ATM remains missing, and the daring thieves are still at large.
