CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- Two men in ski masks and gloves broke into a South Bay restaurant Thursday and stole an automated teller machine, in the latest in a recent rash of similar thefts possibly carried out by the same culprits.

The thieves forced their way into La Bella's Pizza Garden on Third Avenue in Chula Vista through a rear door shortly before 5:30 a.m., police spokesman Bernard Gonzales said.

They removed the cash machine, which was bolted to the floor near a bar inside the business, dragged it outside, loaded in into a waiting black truck and fled.

Several surveillance cameras captured images of the burglars, and a custodian arriving for work saw them speeding out of the area. The monetary loss was unknown, Gonzales said.

The truck, which had been reported stolen in Bonita, was found abandoned in south San Diego later in the day.

Investigators suspect the same men were involved in other recent ATM thefts in recent weeks, including another one in Chula Vista, according to police.