minneapolis

Investigators are still puzzling about how and when a cash-less cash machine ended up in a foreclosed north Minneapolis house, and where it belongs. "It's not like it was a picnic table that was taken," said Sgt. Jesse Garcia. "I'm sure somewhere [a machine is] missing."

The mystery began Saturday when a city housing inspector was checking out a foreclosed house on the 3700 block of N. Penn Avenue and found the machine. It had been pried open and all the money was gone.

Forensics experts are trying to determine what, if any, evidence it may contain that could lead to a suspect.

At this stage, all that's really been confirmed is that the machine is not the same one that thieves hauled away last month from a Hamline University building in St. Paul.

Garcia said that checks of the machines' serial numbers revealed they were not a match.

While ATM theft is not unheard of -- in addition to the St. Paul and Minneapolis incidents, machines also have been stolen in recent years from a Bethel University building in Arden Hills and a bar in Shakopee -- it's uncommon.

"It's not a crime that happens every day," Garcia said.

TOM FORD AND tim harlow