Two Sterling teens on their way to a new fishing spot find a stolen ATM. It was taken from Northland Mall back in May, one of two stolen that day. The second came from Eggs in Paradise. It was found hours later in a nearby pond. But the mall ATM stayed missing until Tuesday night, when the teens helped police reel it in.
This, after officers spend much of Monday night using sonar, looking for the ATM in the Hennipen Canal. Last month, they found a stolen gator used in the break-in there. But they didn't have any luck with the ATM. Detective Mike Henry says, "I was really bummed out that we had spent four or five hours out there and didn't find anything. And then I get a phone call, 45 minutes after I had taken off to go home. My boss, telling me two kids found it, and I'm like this is crazy."
We talked to those kids. And they tell us they thought the same thing. "We were like what the heck?" Chandler Russell says. He and Jalen Ellis have spent summers fishing together since 3rd grade. Tuesday night, they decided to try a pond off of Elkhorn Creek.
But as they got close to it, something caught their attention, something that didn't belong in the trees. "There's just a big ATM piece. It was like a big plastic piece," Ellis says. The teens tell us they knew there had to be a bigger piece, or even an entire machine nearby. Russell says, "There was a ravine kind of, probably like 25 foot or whatever down a hill." "We figured it had to be down there somewhere," Ellis says. "We looked down the hill and it was just laying there."
They reported the find to an officer in the area, who brought in back-up. More police came. And so did a tow-truck driver, who winched the gutted machine up the hill, just like he was reeling in a big one. "They said they'd been looking for it for months and we just randomly find it. Ellis tells us. "It was pretty crazy and they were pretty happy that we found it."
Officers say they are pretty happy they can return the ATM to the bank, and that this find could lead to an arrest. Ellis tells us it could lead to something else. "Kinda makes me think it might be cool to get into detective work or police work in the future." He is getting a good start with this catch of the day.
Meantime, Sterling police say they are turning over the ATM to the State Crime Lab, hoping to get evidence that will lead them to whomever is responsible for these thefts.
