Bixby Police: Thieves Use Stolen Forklift To Steal ATM From Credit Union

Bixby Police are looking for the person who stole a piece of heavy equipment, then used it to steal an ATM at the TTCU Federal Credit Union nearby.

They say it happened around 5 a.m. on Friday. Officers said the ATM alarm sent them an alert and they were able to be on scene within five minutes.

BPD said the thieves stole a large forklift from a job site, drove it to the credit union, and used it to rip the ATM out of the ground.

Officer Seth Adock said this kind of ATM theft was a first for him.

Adock said the thieves ditched the forklift at the crime scene, but got away with the ATM box full of cash.

“We take photos, collect anything that’s important, fingerprint the equipment, any small thing we can do, we will do to the best of our ability,” Adock said.

Police said the forklift was stolen off the land across the street. Land Owner Ray Volentine said he is glad the piece of equipment isn't his.

“We are doing a temporary lease with OG&E to let them store poles and they have some forklifts out there,” Volentine said.

We contacted OG&E, which told us it doesn’t know if the forklift is theirs, but the company is willing to work with police if needed.

Volentine said his business, Tulsa Grass and Sod, has been at the same location for more than two decades.

He said they have lots of equipment on site, including tractors and loaders.

He said they have only had one piece of equipment stolen twenty years ago, so he was shocked when he heard someone took it off his property.

"I’m 71 years old,” Volentine said. “So I’ve seen a lot, but it's always a surprise when something like this happens."

The forklift was returned back to its spot across the street and police are searching for the person, or persons, that ran away with the cash.

Bixby Police ask anyone with information or surveillance video from this area to give them a call at 918-366-8294.