Residents, business owners upset by break-ins

Olds RCMP are investigating a wave of residential and business break-ins that occurred in the community over the past three weeks.

Among those hit were the Olds Laundry Ltd. at 5010 51st St. and Total Image Hair Salon at 4813 50th St.

Olds RCMP Cpl. Mike Black says over the past three weeks, a total of nine break and enters to residences and businesses in Olds and district have been reported to police.

He says three break-ins in Olds have been reported. Two in Bowden have also been reported.

"There's been a mixture of times in terms of when they've been reported or when they've been occurring – whether it's in the day or overnight," Black says.

As of late last week, RCMP were still looking for suspects in all of those cases. Black said police would appreciate the public's help if they have any information that could lead to the arrest of any of those suspects.

Black says it's too early in the investigations to say for sure where these suspects are from. He says some could be from Olds, others from elsewhere in Mountain View County, for example.

Black says these thefts underline the need for residents "to be vigilant about having their stuff locked up and target-harden their residences and businesses to deter break and enters from occurring."

Olds Laundry manager Karen Lausen says not only was her business hit but so was her home. She says she found out about the residential break-in the morning of Nov. 16.

Lausen woke up in the middle of that night.

"I didn't go downstairs because I didn't know for sure what had woken me up. So it might have happened right then and maybe that's what woke me up, but we'll never know for sure," she says.

She says the thief or thieves took "a whole bunch of money, all my keys – everything that makes you function in life pretty much."

Lausen finds the link between the two break-ins interesting.

"It looks sort of like it was planned and the people knew me," she says.

It's shattered her belief in people.

"Well now, who do you trust -- besides nobody? Yesterday I trusted the world. Today I don't trust anybody," she says.

"They brought me to my knees. I've got no money, I've got no car, I've got no identification. My car, they didn't get that far, but they do have the keys to take the car. I don't know whether they'd know or care what they've done to my life – whatever."

Door locks and locks to the coin-operated machines were changed.

Marilyn Vine, owner of Total Image Hair Salon, says the break-in to her business occurred the night of Nov. 14.

She says it appears the thief or thieves broke in by smashing a small, vertical windowpane at the side door.

Vine lives upstairs above the business. She discovered the damage and the thefts the next day.

"I came down in the morning and I thought the shop looked messy. Like (normally), nobody leaves their drawers open. Then I went into the staff room. I was just sweeping and it felt cold for some reason and more light coming in," she says.

"I looked and the door was open and then I kind of looked around and I could see the desk that's in our staff room here – the drawers were all open. Every drawer was open. Then I really looked at the shop and saw every drawer open.

"When I sort of discovered that and started walking around, my other co-worker came in. She could see me through the windows. She couldn't figure out why I was at work because my car wasn't there. I didn't realize (at that time) that my car was gone until she told me.

"So my car's gone. It had a lot of stuff in it and they took all the good new stuff – the more expensive stuff – from my displays at the front," she adds.

Vine is upset about the break-in but relieved they didn't come upstairs where she was sleeping.

Erin Evens is one of the Bowden residents whose home was robbed during this crime wave.

"They stole some very old heirlooms, stuff that's been in my family for a long time," Evens says. "I had a set of Chinese jade that's at least 130 years old."

She's been robbed previously as well. Back in August, thieves rifled through her car.

"I believe it's punks in my neighbourhood," she says. These crooks are everywhere. They watch everything."

She believes they even knew her dog was gone the day the robbery occurred.

Evens says now she's "paranoid." She's ready to note down licence plates of vehicles she considers to be suspicious.

One day she came home and found a rug in her house was scrunched up. She says that was likely due to a cat playing but thoughts of a possible break-in come up quickly too.