Thief allegedly stole a snack but left most of the cash after breaking into town office
LUDLOW, Maine — An unidentified thief allegedly stole a jar of natural gourmet peanut butter and rice cakes from a shelf in the Ludlow Town Office, but left behind a large amount of cash overnight Tuesday, according to the town manager.
When Ludlow Town Manager Diane Hines arrived Wednesday morning at the town office on Ludlow Road, she noticed a cinder block that normally secures a mail drop box was missing and thought it odd someone would steal it.
But it wasn’t until she got inside that she realized there was a break-in overnight, and that the cinder block had been used to smash the glass on the back door to the meeting room, she said.
“Things were disturbed, cabinets were opened,” she said. “They found the cash box bolted to the drawer and removed it.”
The burglar took the visible petty cash that was less than $100, but never noticed several hundred dollars underneath the cash box, she said. Maine State Police located the cash box with a large amount of money dangling from it when they investigated on Wednesday morning, Hines said.
Hines said she locked up the town office about 5:30 p.m. on Monday after a Zoom meeting so the break-in had to happen after that time.
The computers and other equipment were unplugged, but not removed, she said.
“They seemed to know where the cash was, Hines said, adding that perhaps they had been in the office before.
There were also several motor vehicle registrations ready to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles that were taken and DMV was notified, she said.
The state police spent several hours at the town office and the area around it, she said. Some residents are checking their cameras to see if there were any people walking toward the town office on Tuesday night, she said.
The town insurance will cover the cost of the damage and loss.
New security measures, including cameras, for the town office are being explored, Hines said.
Maine State Police said they were covering the Ludlow area today, but are unable to comment at this time.