Police in Hillsboro and McMinnville are comparing notes after ATM's were stolen in a similar manner.
Early Christmas Day, a front loader was stolen in McMinnville and used to smash into an ATM at the First Federal Bank on Baker Creek Road. It was broken from its concrete base and opened.
In Hillsboro Tuesday morning, a front loader was stolen from a construction company and drive about half-a-mile to the Wells Fargo ATM on Northeast Butler Street. That ATM was smashed with the front loader and opened. The cash was stolen. Police pursued suspects in a U-Haul van, but broke off the pursuit for safety reasons. The van was found, but the cash and the suspects were gone.
While the circumstances of both thefts are similar, police are investigating whether it was the same suspects.