Off base: Burglars steal from Pa. youth baseball fields
IRWIN, Pa. -- Police are searching for the culprits in dual baseball diamond heists, reports CBS Pittsburgh.
Investigators say burglars stole money and cash registers from concession stands at two Pennsylvania youth baseball fields.
Footprints can be seen on the door kicked in by thieves at the Police Athletic League's Norwin Sports Complex, in Norwin, Pa.
"Everything in the office and the concession stand was rifled through, every drawer was opened. There's papers all over the place," said Kris Laukus, the PAL Norwin coach.
Laukus found the damage Monday afternoon. She and PAL Norwin Commissioner Bob Stein believe the thieves entered the building through a door on the second floor, using a garbage can as a ladder to reach the deck.
"(They) smashed out our light first and used a pick ax to pry open our side door," Stein told CBS Pittsburgh.
Inside, two safes, including one with about $1,000 from a weekend fundraiser, were gone. The thieves also took the petty cash and the brand new cash register.
To get around the alarm that covers the front door, the PAL volunteers believe the burglars took an 80-pound safe and dropped it over the second-floor deck.
"Anytime something like this happens, it's a kick in the teeth, it really is," said Stein. "And they're stealing from our kids, and in this case, our special needs kids."
About a mile away, at the Pen Glyn ball fields, Irwin, Pa., Police Chief Roger Pivirotto says thieves got away with cash and a register sometime between Friday afternoon and Monday morning.
"The burglars removed the window using some tools and neatly set the Plexiglas window aside so there was no damage to the building itself," Pivirotto said.
Police don't have any suspects yet, but they say the two burglaries are most likely related.