WAUKESHA -- Waukesha police are looking for the people responsible for tearing up a city park overnight on Thursday.
A joy ride through a Waukesha neighborhood turned into an illegal off-road adventure. Tire tracks cover about 150 yards, including part of a soccer field behind Bethesda Elementary School.
"It’s used a lot by soccer kids and the school kids and it’s kind of sad that they had to come and do that," said Heather Frazier.
Neighbors say they never heard or saw the action, but some have their suspicions.
"I think it’s terrible,” said Richard Spence. “It’s probably kids, and kids tend to do a lot of dumb things I suppose.”
The Waukesha City Parks Department was out surveying the damage on Friday. Ruts about six to eight inches deep cover parts of the practice soccer field. Keith Johnson says the cost of repairs will be minimal, but the process could take several hours.
"We put a lot of time into trying to keep the fields and city parks up and this pulls away from other maintenance we have to do just to fix vandalism,” said Johnson.
This isn’t the time the parks department has dealt with the issue. Just last week, Rivers Crossing Park was also left covered in tire tracks.
“I doubt if they’ll even find who did it, but I just wish that people would realize their actions have consequences,” said Frazier. “Now that kids can’t play there, it’s kind of sad."
Waukesha police ask anyone with information to come forward. If caught, those behind the mess could face misdemeanor charges of criminal damage to property.
