An estimated $50,000 worth of damage was caused to an MSU Extension facility in Hickory Corners, Mich., during a vandalism that occurred sometime between Thursday night and early Friday morning.
Police still are searching for a suspect or suspects who appear to have turned MSU’s W.K. Kellogg Biological Station into a slalom course by weaving a vehicle through marking tags set up as part of a research project, Barry Township police Officer Christopher Martin said.
The vehicle appears to have made a loop around the property, missed hitting a 15 to 20 foot research tower and struck a monitoring station, he said.
“The monitoring station is a complete write-off,” Martin said. “They destroyed everything.”
The data station was one of seven MSU constructed under a Department of Energy grant given to the university to measure greenhouse gases, Martin said.
Neither the researchers nor an MSU spokesperson could be reached for comment Monday.
The case remains under investigation and police are asking the public for assistance in finding a suspect, Martin said. Police believe only one vehicle was involved.
Martin said the vehicle likely sustained damage during the incident, based on the damage at the scene.
“We have nothing,” Martin said. “We have absolutely nothing. We couldn’t find a tire track, we couldn’t find paint scrapes or anything else.”
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