Thieves take ATM machine using "cowboy" method

SANTIAGO.- An undetermined number of suspects robbed an automatic teller early this morning by removing the machine from its platform at a Servipag office in the Municipality of Renca.

According to police, the incident took place just after 4:00 AM, when the suspects arrived at the scene in a van and smaller vehicle. At the location, the thieves broke open the locks and metallic curtain and subsequently smashed a window pane.

The suspects then tied up the machine using a method known as the "cowboy" to remove it from its base.

Witnesses told police that the individuals may have dragged the ATM machine for a little more than a block before opening it on the street and taking trays filled with the money and abandoning the rest of the apparatus.

The case is being investigated by police from the Seventh Commissary of Renca and the Center-North Public Prosecutor's Office. There is currently no information as to the whereabouts of the thieves or the amount of money that was taken.