Aug. 07--An embattled local rescue squad is now the focus of a state police investigation into the misappropriation of funds.
Sgt. M.T. Conroy confirmed on Tuesday that Wythe County Rescue Squad representatives asked for the investigation on Aug. 3.
"The Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations is currently looking into the allegation and is working with the victim to obtain records that would aid in our investigation," he wrote in an email. "No charges have been made and the investigation is ongoing."
Wythe County spokeswoman Jenna Coleman said that Rescue Squad Director Beth Crigger resigned on Friday. Contacted on Tuesday, interim squad Director J.D. Hancock said that he couldn't comment on the case.
"They are the victim here, and that is what we want to emphasize," Conroy said.
In April, the nonprofit agency announced that it would only answer 911 calls because of money issues, which resulted in layoffs for two full-time workers.
Previously, squad members had been lobbying the town for funding, which it did not provide.
The county gives the squad $25,000 annually and recently applied for a $250,000 Wythe-Bland Foundation grant for Wythe and other local squads to bridge the gap in funding regarding uninsured and under-insured patients. Squad leaders have said that Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance companies don't cover the entire amount of what the squad charges for transports.
The Wythe County Rescue Squad started in 1948.
Copyright 2012 - Wytheville Enterprise, Va.
