MONEY KEPT IN POLICE EVIDENCE ROOM MISSING; AUTHORITIES DID NOT SAY HOW MUCH WAS MISSING, BUT THEY HAVE BEGUN A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION.(LOCAL/STATE)

Byline: Phuong Nguyen STAFF WRITER

Money is missing from the most secure area of the Bradenton Police Department: the evidence room.

Authorities did not disclose how much money was missing because they are conducting a criminal investigation into the apparent theft.

Only a handful of Bradenton Police employees had access to the agency's two evidence rooms, which served as storage areas for seized narcotics, cash, guns and a cache of property, said Bradenton Police Maj. Anthony Meador.

"This is a restricted area," Meador said. "It was not accessible to all officers or any civilians."

The money was taken from a downstairs room, which …