ATM stolen from San Jose Children’s Museum found off Highway 101 in Aromas

Thieves walked into the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose and stole an ATM out of the lobby area in the museum on Saturday.

Wednesday morning, Monterey County Sheriff’s deputies found the busted ATM off Highway 101 near the Red Barn in Aromas.

“Driving up and saw it on the side of the road got out and started investigating,” Monterey County Sheriff’s Capt. John Thornburg said.

The deputy was able to trace the ATM to the Museum in San Jose. It turns out it hadn’t been reported stolen yet.

The executive director of the museum tells KION that ATM sits in an area with lots of activity.

“It’s the lobby area, so it’s when people are entering the museum. The lockers are there where you store your jackets and bags and all of that. Many people park their strollers there,” Marilee Jennings said.

San Jose Police said the suspects dressed as service technicians and used a dolly to roll the ATM out of the museum, which wouldn’t have seemed fishy for multiple reasons.

“The ATM company had been here the day before working on the machine. We serve 400,000 visitors a year, there’s just a lot of activity,” Jennings said.

Law enforcement has not identified the suspects.