CASSOPOLIS — While the winter is usually a quiet time for the facility, the Cass County Fairgrounds received an unwelcome visit late Monday night — and some extensive damage was left in its wake.

Police are searching for a pair of suspects who trespassed onto the fairgrounds, located on O’Keefe Street in Cassopolis, and vandalized several buildings earlier this week. Department officials suspect that two people carried out the crime, due to footprints left behind at the scene, said Cassopolis Police Chief Brian La Valle.

Officials with the fair discovered the vandalism Tuesday afternoon. They found the inside of the Agnes Gregarek building, a large two-story structure used for fair and private functions throughout the year, had been spray painted and all of the building’s portable fire extinguishers had been set off, said Fair Board President Gail Peterson.

The intruders appeared to have entered the Gregarek building through one of the basement windows, which was pried open with the wire screen kicked in, he said.

The culprit or culprits also spray painted the outside of several other fair buildings, including the fair office, a building used by 4-H clubs for concessions and a red metal building used by county firemen during the fair, Peterson said.

“It seems like they picked out some of the nicer buildings to vandalize,” Peterson said.

The vandals spray painted graffiti that were related to Satanic worship, including upside down crosses and the number “666,” La Valle said.

Security cameras installed on the premises were unable to capture the vandals, the police chief said.

Police believe the case is related to a break-in at the Squires Education Center days earlier, where security camera footage captured two individuals entering the building and stealing some audio/visual equipment, La Valle said. While the suspects appear to be younger in age, the department has not been able to develop profiles due to the fact they had obscured their faces.

As of Thursday, fair employees had not removed the vandalism from the buildings. Peterson said the fair board is not sure how much it will cost to repair the damage.

“We assume the damage is extensive enough that we will have to hire a professional company to clean it up,” he said. “We are just waiting until we talk to our insurance company.”

Peterson does not believe there was major damage done to the interior of the Gregarek from the extinguisher fluids, though.

Although there had been incidents where intruders have broken into buildings at the fairgrounds, the fair president said he could not recall any previous incidents where the vandalism was as extensive as what was found Tuesday.

“It is disappointing to think there are people out there who believe this is a good use of their time,” Peterson said. “There are things like school or work that you would think they could direct their energy toward instead.”

The fair board will consider several possible security improvements in light of the incident, including upgrading the fencing surrounding the fairgrounds or installing additional cameras, Peterson said.

People with information about the incident are asked to contact the Cassopolis police department, at (269) 445-8100.