Vandals Use Stolen Trucks to Smash $60,000 Park Restrooms

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Perry County Sheriff's Office are requesting the public's assistance regarding recent criminal damage to state property.

Sheriff Keith Kellerman told the Du Quoin Evening Call that on August 22 a tractor semi truck was stolen from Midwest Transload trucking company located at the old Captain mine preparation plant site on Pyatt's Blacktop. The semi was driven through a restroom facility at "Super Lake" on the Captain Mine Unit on the Pyramid Park property, destroying the restroom facility and causing major damage to the truck.

On Sunday, September 13 another tractor semi truck was stolen from Southern Illinois Express trucking company also located at the old Captain mine building. That truck also was driven thru another restroom facility located on Pyramid Park property and then run off into the Golden Eye strip mined lake at the Galum Unit, about a mile away.

Damages at Pyramid Park are estimated near $40,000, damages to the trucks are still being assessed. Sheriff Kellerman said he will be working with the trucking companies and IDNR reference offering a reward for information of the suspects. Anyone with information regarding these incidents is asked to call the Perry County Sheriff's Office at 618-357-5212.

Park superintendent Cha Hill said each of the buildings was about 12 feet wide with a partition down the middle, separating the building into two restrooms. Several restroom buildings throughout the park were constructed as part of a $900,000 Pyramid Park recreational development program several years ago.

Hill said the stolen truck from the incident three weeks ago became hung up in the debris of the collapsed restroom at Super Lake. The truck stolen and used in Sunday's vandalism was driven off into the lake after the building was demolished. Investigators could see the top of the truck through the water. It was pulled out and the area was roped off as crime scene investigators gathered evidence from the scene.

Investigators said the first truck was older. The truck stolen Sunday was a 2003 model with a sleeper cab. It is not known whether keys were left in both trucks or someone had access to the keys. Everyone believes that more than one person is involved. The area is so isolated that whoever was responsible had to have transportation out of the area.