The Bethel Family Clinic is cleaning up after a recent break-in.
Among the items stolen are about $300 in cash, syringes, and narcotics with a street value around $24,000, according to Latesia Guinn, executive director of the clinic.
Guinn estimates the break-in occurred sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning.
Clinic workers arrived at the clinic to find the front door busted, the safe forced open, and glass from the pharmacy door shattered across the floor.
Guinn said one pair of tracks led in and out of the building, making her believe the theft was the work of a single person.
“We had fresh snow that day. They’re the only tracks that were coming into the clinic,” Guinn said.
Guinn said the IT department is analyzing security camera footage and plans to install new surveillance equipment.
“We’re putting a security camera in,” she said. “We did have some, but we don’t know if they’re a high enough quality to get anything off of them.”
Guinn said as of Monday, the clinic is back to business as usual, but the feeling in the building has shifted.
“We all feel very violated. This is our other home. This is where we spend a lot of hours of our day. This is where we take care of people,” she said.
Guinn said the clinic is federally funded, making the stolen items federal property. The police examined the crime scene Saturday and are continuing their investigation.
The clinic is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the theft.
Anna Rose MacArthur is a reporter at KYUK in Bethel.
