The Campus Master Plan isn’t scheduled to make the golf course disappear for at least a few months, but some people are taking it upon themselves to begin disassembly early. Everything from golf flags to ball washers have been stolen from the golf course.
“It’s like an insult to injury. First USTAR takes our golf course, now this,” said James Kilgore, the golf course manager.
The theft of about $2,000 worth of property has been a two-night process.
Kilgore reported the first theft Tuesday afternoon. A propane tank, but no propane accessories, and a large water cooler were missing from the golf course’s storage shack. Since inventory hasn’t been completed, even more might be missing, Kilgore said.
When Officer Gabriel Jacquez arrived on the scene, Kilgore led him to the shack’s closed door and informed him of the stolen property. As the manager opened the door, they saw indisputable signs of a break-in, according to the report.
“All the stuff on the shelves was thrown on the floor and scattered around,” Jacquez said.
The theft could’ve happened at any time this month, since Kilgore had been the first employee to go near the golf shack since Sept. 29. Whoever left the shack last must have forgotten to lock the door since there was no sign of forced entry, according to the report.
Employees are always forgetting to lock up, and after months of trying their luck, it finally ran out, Kilgore said.
There were no witnesses and police have no suspects for the burglary. As long as thieves get away with their heist, they’re more likely to repeat it, Captain Lynn Mitchell said. The thieves returned to the scene of the crime Tuesday night after their hole-in-one success.
At this point, they’re still on par. There are still no witnesses or suspects for the Tuesday night theft of golf flags, ball washers, shoe-spike brushes and red wastebaskets. All of the items were located on the course at each of their nine holes. The thieves must have gone hole to hole all night and taken everything as they went, Kilgore said.
It’s a lot of property that would be cumbersome for even a handful of people to carry, so it must have either been a long operation or a large one, he said.
Kilgore suspects the thieves rode the TRAX line to and from the golf course that night. Much of the stolen property was located at the seventh hole, which is the easiest to get to from the street and the TRAX stop, he said.
The golf course management plans to replace their disappearing equipment so U golfers can enjoy their sport, until next spring when new recreation fields and research buildings will replace the course.