ARLEE — The only grocery store serving the small town of Arlee was broken into early Thursday morning when a vehicle crashed through the front entrance and suspects took off with the store's ATM machine. Despite significant damage, the store never closed its doors.
Rowan Wilson, owner of Wilson's Family Foods, said he was awakened by his store's alarm system in the early morning hours after the vehicle struck the building.
"I got a call at the house when the glass broke," Wilson said.
Before Wilson could leave his home, he received a second call — this time from police.
"I was getting ready to go and the police called and said someone stole the ATM," Wilson said.
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A nearby neighbor had reported the break-in to authorities. When Wilson arrived at the store, the damage was hard to miss — the front entrance had been completely destroyed.
"I didn't really believed it happened I was like there's no way really, I was shocked I never had anyone go that far I thought it was secure," Wilson said.
According to the Lake County Sheriff's Office, the incident happened around 4 a.m. Thursday. A vehicle with no license plates plowed into the store's front entrance and fled with the ATM machine. Wilson said while theft is not entirely new to running a business, nothing has come close to this level of damage.
Even so, Wilson said shutting down was never a consideration.
"We gotta help pay for the door right, but we provide a service to the community, that's part of being in business is being reliable," Wilson said.
Wilson said his focus remains on the people of Arlee and keeping the store they depend on open, no matter what comes next.
"That's life, there's all kinds of challenges, you have challenges in whatever you are doing life's not easy," Wilson said.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with information about the incident to contact Lake County Dispatch at 406-883-7301 or email Detective Hines at Bhines@lakemt.gov.
