Bag with Vance County tax collections missing

Thousands of dollars in tax money collected by Vance County is missing,  officials said Wednesday.

A deposit bag with an estimated $6,000 to $7,000 in cash and thousands more in checks disappeared in the days before Christmas, prompting a criminal investigation, Commissioner Danny Wright said.

The money was destined for deposit at a local bank, but somewhere along the line, the bag and its contents disappeared, and county tax officials have been unable to track it down, Wright said. The incident likely occurred around Dec. 21, he said.

The Vance County Sheriff's Office is investigating the case.