Backhoe bandits strike again: Attempted ATM theft at Mount Pearl credit union
Police still searching for whoever tore the banking machine out of the wall with excavator
Long weekend revelries were cut short Monday morning for managers of a Mount Pearl credit union.
The EasternEdge Credit Union on Corey King Drive is the latest drive-through ATM to fall victim to thieves armed with heavy machinery.
Police were called around 8 a.m. and arrived to find the ATM ripped from the side of the building, with shards of metal and insulation splayed in a twisted pile on the pavement.
The backhoe, with the banking machine still in its bucket, lay tangled in chicken-wire fencing just metres away. A person working nearby told CBC News it appeared the driver had mistakenly backed over an embankment and couldn't free the backhoe.
A Honda Civic parked in the lot below the embankment was damaged by the backhoe landing on it.
Muddy tire tracks from the machine wrapped around the building.
The trail of destruction is reminiscent of four other loader-led larceny attempts last winter. Two men were charged in connection with those "smash and grab" thefts.
Police say they're still searching for a suspect in Monday's attempt.
With files from Fred Hutton