Washington County's three commissioners held a joint news conference announcing that a criminal investigation is underway to determine what happened to $96,000 that is unaccounted for in the Clerk of Courts office."This is a very sad day for Washington County because the public trust has been violated," Commissioner Diana Irey Vaughn said. Commissioners say the missing funds were discovered during a scheduled audit by the county controller. The audit says the Clerk of Courts office makes daily cash deposits of money collected from traffic fines, court penalties and other transactions. However, on 27 occasions, no money was deposited, and "we're upset, disappointed, disillusioned", Commissioner Larry Maggi said. "We work together, work hard to bring trust to county government, and for funds to come up missing is very disappointing."