Break-ins at Wisconsin golf courses
CAMPBELLSPORT, Wis. - It's not a place you'd typically think a thief might target, but two golf courses in southeast Wisconsin were recently broken into; the brazen crimes caught on camera.
The rolling hills and manicured lawn at Auburn Bluffs Golf Course in Campbellsport can make for a picturesque round of golf, but what was recently caught on camera is not par for the course.
"It's an invasion of your life," said Ree Mies, owner of Auburn Bluffs Golf Course.
Around 6 a.m. on Thursday, June 24, Mies got a phone call from one of her employees. He had just arrived to the course to start his shift.
Surveillance video captured Auburn Bluffs Golf Course break-in
"He said, 'There's been a break-in, it looks like," Mies said. "'You guys should get here right away.'"
Just after 3 a.m., surveillance video shows a thief working to bust open an Auburn Bluffs patio door. Unsuccessful, the suspect moved to the employee entrance.
"He had two crowbars and worked on it for almost three minutes, a little over three minutes, and couldn't get in, so he ended up crow-barring his way through a window," said Mies.
Once inside, Mies said the burglar went right for the gaming machines. What the burglar likely didn't know is he was in for a bogey; Mies and her husband closed on the property in early June and had only been open for about one week at the time of the incident.
"He ended up only getting $43 out of the gaming machines and a dollar out of the Touch Tunes machine," said Mies.
Damaged gaming machine at Auburn Bluffs Golf Course
Thankfully, the registers had been emptied the previous night; still, thousands of dollars in damage was left.
Less than an hour later, the owner of The Golf Club at Camelot in Lomira reported a nearly identical incident.
"I can definitely say from looking at our images and seeing the images from Camelot, that is the same individual," Mies said.
Mies described the suspect as wearing a ski mask, a striped sweatshirt, leather gloves, jeans, and work boots/shoes.
The Golf Club at Camelot
There, FOX6 News is told, roughly $4,000 in cash was taken from gaming machines and registers. About $1,000 in damage was done.
"We're small business owners, and you know, we're here for our communities," said Mies. "It hurts, it really does."
In a statement to FOX6 News, Laura Beaudoin, owner of The Golf Club at Camelot said: "My heart goes out to Ree and Eric, the new owners of Auburn Bluffs. This is a disheartening way to welcome them into the community. I am, however, extremely grateful no one was hurt."
Surveillance image of The Golf Club at Camelot break-in
If you recognize the burglar or have information about either break-in, you are asked to contact authorities.
The Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office is investigating the Auburn Bluffs Golf Course break-in. Anyone with tips about the case should contact its non-emergency number at (920) 929-3390.
The Golf Club at Camelot is located in Dodge County. The Dodge County Sheriff's Office non-emergency number is (920) 386-3726.
Auburn Bluffs Golf Course
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