Iowa Football Theft an Inside Job? 'No Forced Entry,' Say Police
'There's A Lot of Questions Right Now,' Says Investigator
An Iowa football theft during the Cy-Hawks rival game Saturday night has police suspecting that the thief had access to the locker room beforehand. While Iowa State University beat Iowa State 27-21, the locker room at Jack Trice Stadium was raided for cell phones and cash.
The Iowa football theft, which was reported at 8:43 p.m. that night, resulted in nine people's cell phones were missing and a total of $50 was stolen. What concerns the officials isn't the money or items stolen, though- they have offered to reimburse everyone who was robbed if the culprit is never caught. What police have yet to discover is how the thief got inside.
"There was no forced entry," Cpt. Darin Van Ryswyk of the Iowa State University police told The Des Moines Register Monday. "There's a lot of questions right now."
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By Monday afternoon, police still had no suspects, as the usual procedures like fingerprinting and other analysis wouldn't work in the locker room, which was especially crowded before and after the game.
"It was very hectic, as you would expect in a crowded locker room," Van Ryswyk admitted. "It was difficult to do a lot of investigating after the game. It's not a scene where we can just lift fingerprints- there were so many people in the locker room."
Police are finding out who had access to the locker room now so they can form a list of possible suspects. Contemporary Services Corporation, who provides security of the visiting locker room area during games, requires a pass for anyone to get in. They claimed that all security procedures were followed.
"It seems like we have counterfeit tickets for every game. Did someone counterfeit a pass for access to the locker room?" Van Ryswyk said. There are no surveillance cameras in the locker rooms.
Iowa State University issued a statement regarding the robbery Monday.
"It is an unfortunate situation, and unusual, in that the Jacobson Athletic Building has contracted security detail on site before, during and after games. The ISU Police and the athletics department responded quickly and thoroughly when alerted to the situation and have assured Iowa officials they are committed to seeking answers and improving security in this area."
