A large floor safe that contained more than $13,000 in cash was reported stolen Sunday from Bubba Raceway Park. The safe was later recovered, with more than $5,000 missing from it.
The safe was reported missing Sunday evening from the track at 9050 NW Gainesville Road. The theft happened sometime after 1 a.m. on Saturday, after the Friday night performance, according to a Marion County Sheriff’s Office report.
Investigators believe someone climbed into the raceway office through a back window. A screen was removed from the window and set against the building, and items that were on the window sill were scattered on the ground outside. The office was in disarray and two other safes had been tampered with but were not removed.
Officers saw a trail in the dirt leading from the office to the tree line. A dolly was missing and investigators speculated it was used to move the safe, which left the trail in the dirt.
At the same time officers were at the raceway, a caretaker at Fessenden Elementary School, which is next to the track, called the sheriff’s office to report finding a safe and a dolly on the property, the reports notes.
The safe was identified as the one taken from the track office.
The safe had two compartments, each with a combination lock. The upper part of the safe was breached. According to raceway officials, it held more than $5,000 in cash from Friday’s event. The bottom portion of the safe was still locked, but the combination dial was damaged and could not be opened by track officials. There was reportedly $8,000 in cash in that section, according to the report.
Anyone with information can call the Sheriff’s Office at 732-9111 or Crime Stoppers at 368-STOP.