A thief robbed the surf shop, sushi restaurant, and Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall in Masset this week.
“There hasn’t been an arrest yet, but we have identified a suspect,” says Corporal Christopher Kienzle of the Masset RCMP.
“Anybody who has seen odd items for sale — maybe too cheap, deals that seem too good to be true, that kind of thing — definitely give us a phone call.”
Cpl. Kienzle also asked anyone to please report whether they noticed any suspicious overnight activity between about midnight and 6 a.m. this week. The thefts apparently happened early Sunday and late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning.
People can phone the Masset RCMP at 250-626-3991 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Some of the stolen items have already been returned, including a television taken from the Kingdom Hall sometime before the service on Sunday, Dec. 2.
“The television has been returned to its owner, due to some citizens in the community being very aware,” Kienzle said.
A member of the congregation said some money was also stolen from a donation box, and he was just glad there was no other damage.
“It’s a sign of the times,” he said.
Security cameras showed that someone broke in twice to the North Beach Surf Shop on Orr Street in the early hours of Wednesday morning, making off with some cash and electronic devices.
Also overnight on Wednesday, some items were also stolen from the new Sushi Yokohama restaurant on Main Street. Staff at the Causeway Convenience store on Collison Avenue noticed a damaged door on Wednesday morning, but the thief was unable to get in.
Kienzle said it’s unlikely there are any other suspects besides the one identified so far.
“It always seems to be, in a small town like this, a single individual either returning to the community after a long hiatus or somebody that’s maybe reaching the end of their trail of addiction,” he said.