KY thief used forklift from construction site, stolen U-Haul to take bank’s ATM.

A U-Haul vehicle that police believe was used in the theft of an ATM from the Stock Yards Bank & Trust on West Showalter Drive in Georgetown was found Tuesday afternoon, according to police.

The vehicle was discovered abandoned on Valley Forge Court, roughly less than a mile away from the bank, at approximately 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, per police. The ATM was not found in the vehicle, which is currently being processed by police.

“We went and secured it, brought it to the police department and we’ve been trying to process it for fingerprints and stuff like that,” Assistant Police Chief Darin Allgood said. “If we get anything that’s really good, we’ll send it off for analysis and see if it comes back with anybody we can follow up on.”

The ATM was first reported stolen at 5 a.m. Tuesday. Police say a person wearing dark clothing can be seen on surveillance footage coming up to the side of the bank in a U-Haul vehicle before heading over to a nearby construction site.

The suspect took a forklift from the construction site and used it to lift the ATM from the ground, according to police. The suspect loaded the ATM into the U-Haul vehicle and left.

The awning that sat above the ATM suffered significant damage, Allgood said. Police aren’t sure how the suspect was able to gain access to the forklift.

“Sometimes, over my career, I’ve come across construction sites with keys left in equipment,” Allgood said. “Some of the equipment has like a common key that would work, so we don’t have an answer for that yet.”

Police estimate the theft occurred roughly at 3:30 a.m. after speaking with a CVS employee who heard the forklift backing up.

HogHead Trailers, which is located on the same street as the bank, reported a stolen U-Haul vehicle shortly after noon Tuesday, per police.