Wild theft of ATM machine in Puyallup features excavator, truck, high speed police chase

Three suspects allegedly used a stolen excavator to dismantle a stand-alone ATM machine, load it into a pickup truck and flee with the money inside Saturday morning, leading to a vehicle chase after officers arrived, according to a news release from the Puyallup Police Department.

The burglary occurred at the 1500 block of East Main Avenue in Puyallup, the release said. Officers responded at about 8:50 a.m. and arrived as the suspect vehicle was driving away. They pursued it as it sped eastbound on East Main Avenue toward Sumner.

“The suspect vehicle continued to drive recklessly and into oncoming lanes of travel,” the release said.

Officers stopped chasing the vehicle as it approached Sumner city limits, according to the release.

Carmen Palmer, spokesperson for the city of Sumner and Sumner Police, told The News Tribune the suspects are believed to have driven onto state Route 410 and did not enter the city of Sumner.

Police believe the suspects stole the excavator from a construction worksite near the 400 block of River Road in Puyallup and used it to drive to the ATM machine and load it into the truck. The pickup truck was stolen from a location in Kitsap County. The investigation is ongoing, the release said.

Puyallup Police request that people with information about the incident, or video footage from the burglary or the excavator traveling on the roads, call their tip line at 253-770-3343 or email tips@puyallupwa.gov.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with information from the city of Sumner spokesperson.

This story was originally published November 30, 2024 at 12:33 PM.

Julia Park

The News Tribune

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Julia Park is the Gig Harbor reporter at The News Tribune and writes stories about Gig Harbor, Key Peninsula, Fox Island and other areas across the Tacoma Narrows. She started as a news intern in summer 2024 after graduating from the University of Washington, where she wrote for her student paper, The Daily, freelanced for the South Seattle Emerald and interned at Cascade PBS News (formerly Crosscut).