The Ava Police Department is investigating a series of burglaries that occurred over a period of several days.
Police Chief Reggie Johnson said the burglars seemed to have targeted government-owned buildings and in some instances there was more pilfering than stealing.
All the burglaries occurred during the night, and in most cases were discovered when workers arrived the following morning.
Last Wednesday night, burglars broke into the MoDOT maintenance building on Fairgrounds Road and took money.
On Thursday night, burglars entered Ava City Hall and pilfered through filing cabinets and drawers, but it has not been determined if anything was taken there.
The same night, the glass door of the Chamber of Commerce office on Highway 5 was broken, but an alarm sounded and no entry was made.
Sometime during the weekend, the Ava Community Center-Senior Center was burglarized. Money was taken there, and the vandals also pried open a locked cooler and took food.
Monday night, there was a break-in at the city dog pound which also houses city maintenance equipment, and a saw was taken there.
Johnson said he has received reports from the Missouri Highway Patrol that there have been two break-ins at the MoDOT maintenance building at Gainesville in recent weeks that may or may not be related to the break-ins here.
Johnson said the Ava Police Department would appreciate any information the public may have that would help officers solve these crimes.
If you have information you may call the Ava Police Dept. at 417-683-2931. That phone is answered 24 hours a day.
