Watch: Thieves use truck to rip ATM from ground in East Bay

Police in Walnut Creek are searching for three suspects who ripped an ATM out of the ground early Friday morning, making off with the machine and all of the cash inside.

Around 5 a.m., three men in a white Ford F-250 or F-350 extended bed pickup truck pulled into a Shell gas station on the 200 block of Ygnacio Valley Road, police said.

One of the men got out of the truck and engaged the clerk, who was working alone, while a second suspect attached a cable from the truck to the outdoor ATM. As soon as the cable was secure, the third suspect — still in the truck — accelerated, ripping the machine from where it was secured and dragging it off amid a trail of sparks.

The suspects then hoisted the ATM into the truck bed and fled the scene, police said.

Officials urged anyone with information about the suspects, or the vehicle, to contact Walnut Creek Police at (925) 943-5877.

Kale Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfkale