Bones & Stones Décor has experienced theft five times since they moved into their new location six months ago.  In each of those instances, their advanced surveillance equipment caught the perpetrators and police were able to identify and arrest the suspects.

That’s why the latest theft came as a surprise to owner Sandy McKay. She wasn’t in the showroom at the time, but the crime was again caught on tape, which has since been turned over to authorities.

“They were in the store less than two minutes, but they had scoped the place from outside and then roughly eight minutes later they came back and did their thing,” explained McKay as she handed over video imagery of a man acting as lookout, while his female accomplice put items into a large handbag.

“The other thing is they split up immediately, most couples shop together. He stayed in one spot and she immediately went (to the items).”

The items stolen were two pieces made of blue calcite – a medium sized bowl and a smaller heart shaped gemstone.

Previous items stolen from the shop also included blue calcite and McKay wonders if this is part of a theft ring, or if someone is specifically asking thieves to target the mineral.

“The first guy that we noticed stealing, I think it was three Sunday’s in a row, and he stole blue calcite. He came back and stole another item, then came back and stole another item. So someone really likes blue calcite because that’s mainly what he stole,” says McKay.

“And then we caught him, so we figured that was it, our stuff is safe now. And then this couple came back and according to the film footage, it looked like they knew exactly what they wanted and where to go.”

Since the first theft from Bones & Stones at the shops grand opening on July 15, they have stayed vigilant and had nothing abnormal happen until recently, but McKay says the situation is frustrating and certainly affects her bottom line.

“It’s cost me $5000 to install my camera system and catch these guys and we caught the last two people to steal from us,” she says.

“In the end its just so frustrating that people like that think they can come in and just steal it’s a violation, its wrong.

“These are one of a kind items and I have to go far away to get them. I spend two or three weeks travelling to find these items and then there’s the cost of shipping them back, and I have to pay extra duty on them as well and it’s all money out of my pocket. Everything in my store is stuff that I own, so it’s like they’ve just come and stuck their hand into my purse and took my money.”

If anyone recognizes the photos of the two suspects or knows of their whereabouts, you are encouraged to call Kelowna RCMP at RCMP at 250-762-3300.

 

Photo: Contributed

Photo: Contributed

Photo: Contributed

Photo: Contributed

Photo: Contributed

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