Police have opened an investigation into missing funds associated with Hawkeye Express, a train that provides transportation for University of Iowa fans from Coralville to Kinnick Stadium.

According to a Dec. 19 audit report, ticket sales for the 2011 season dropped by an estimated $66,000 although Hawkeye Express ridership reportedly increased. Deposits were made only five of the seven games, according to the audit.

UI spokesman Tom Moore said the university does not who is responsible for the absent funds, adding in an email that “police have not made their investigative report, no suspect has been names, and an arrest has not been made.”

Moore added that although an employee in the Athletics Department was recently fired for “failing to follow proper cash-handling procedures,” he could not confirm if the two cases were connected.

The employee, Kathleen Willier, was initially employed by the UI in 1982 as a Clerk II but was promoted several times, culminating in her position as an accountant in the Athletics Department in 2005.

UI officials said Willier was terminated from that position effective Nov. 6, 2013.

— by Lily Abromeit