UTAH COMPUTERS STOLEN Thieves raid Provo's Amelia Earhart Elementary - Daily Herald / Utah Valley Local News

Tuesday, 24 March 2009

Thieves raid Provo's Amelia Earhart Elementary

Janice Peterson - Daily Herald

PROVO -- A Provo elementary school community is reeling after an overnight burglary resulting in thousands of dollars in losses. Provo police Capt. Cliff Argyle said one or more people broke into Amelia Earhart Elementary School in southwest Provo sometime Sunday night, stealing dozens of laptops, projectors and digital cameras. The school also sustained thousands of dollars in damages. "Several of the interior doors were damaged so they could gain access," Argyle said. The number of items stolen are still being tallied, but Argyle said 60 to 80 laptops may have been taken. The school's principal, Jason Cox, said losses Monday afternoon had added up to 35 stolen laptops, five digital cameras and two projectors. The laptops cost about $1,100 apiece, so losses and damages could add up to nearly $100,000 if 60 to 80 are missing. Argyle said it is still unclear how and when the burglary occurred. Teachers were at the school late Sunday night, and the crime was discovered early Monday morning, so police believe the burglary occurred in between. However, the exterior of the school showed no sign of forced entry, and the doors were still locked Monday morning. Argyle said roof access was not likely, as the vents and grates in the school were undamaged. "They're not thinking that was the point of entry," he said. Argyle said police also do not know if one person was involved or if there are multiple suspects. The crime could have been committed in a short amount of time or all through the night, and the amount of time it took could point to how many people were involved. "It seems like that would be quite a task to get that many items out of the school," he said. Argyle said it does not seem the suspect or suspects entered the school to steal whatever they could find. Instead, he said, it looks like they targeted specific items and tore the school apart looking for them. "I think they knew what they were going after," he said. Greg Hudnall, director of student services for Provo, said the damage to doors and locks will total at least $10,000. The items were stolen from multiple classrooms, the library and a technology room, he said. "They took anything of value that was not nailed down," he said. Crews were in the school all day Monday cleaning up and repairing the damage, which Hudnall said may have been caused by crowbars and sledgehammers. A $500 reward is being offered for information leading to arrests in the case, he said. Although some teens were on the roof of the school Friday night and arrested, Hudnall said authorities do not believe they were involved in the burglary. This burglary is not the first for the district. Hudnall said both Sunset View Elementary and Edgemont Elementary have been burglarized recently. There are alarm systems at some schools, but there are no alarms or cameras at Amelia Earhart, he said. "We're moving forward to put alarms in every school," Hudnall said. Cox said he discovered the burglary Monday when he arrived at 6:30 a.m. Monday was a scheduled teacher training day, so the students did not attend school throughout the district, which helped the investigation go smoothly, he said. The school has a permanent computer lab, which was unharmed. The students will still have computers to work on while waiting for insurance to replace the laptops. Cox said the only computers stolen were laptops that traveled between classrooms, so the PCs with student information on them were left alone. "They're computers we don't save anything to," he said. Cox said it is hard to understand why someone would steal from children. It is the children that will be hurt the most, not the administrators and teachers. "I don't think it was a personal thing, but it feels very personal," he said. The children's safety will not be in question when they return to school, Cox said. Teachers will discuss the incident with their students to ensure they feel safe and are not troubled by the events. "We're wanting it not to scare anyone," he said. "That's my biggest concern, especially with this age group."

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