A frame taken from the surveillance camera footage inside Silver Liningz Boutique during last week's burglary shows a single figure making their way through the store. Some items for sale worth around $150 were taken according to the owner, and police confirmed they already have identified a suspect.
A Wrangell store owner was surprised to discover her shop had been entered during the night last week, with some items stolen.
Located on the back side of the Churchill Building, Silver Liningz Boutique had apparently been broken into sometime during the evening of January 3. One of the town's newer businesses, the shop deals mainly in women's apparel, decorative coffee mugs and exotic scents.
Store owner Terie Loomis had recently been working through her year-end inventory, so had a fresh idea of what her store had in stock. The evening prior to the break-in, she recalled putting out some new items on the sales floor before heading home. The task was half-completed, so when she returned to it the following morning Loomis was surprised to find only two boxes instead of three.
"I thought 'That's weird,'" she said.
Next she noticed some of the lingerie on display had been rearranged, with some empty hangers left on the racks.
"I could tell exactly what was missing," said Loomis. She estimated eight articles of women's underwear were missing, along with a pair of fleece face shields. Additionally, a "pop socket" attachment for smartphones her store sells at the front counter was also missing.
The store happened to have a Nest Cam brand digital security camera inside, so while her husband reviewed the previous evening's footage Loomis contacted Wrangell Police Department about a possible break-in. Examining the video, a six-minute segment yielded some answers as to what had happened.
A large male figure could be seen approaching the store's northwestern window, which looks out onto the parking lot. The suspect slid open the window, climbed inside the store, then closed it behind him. Walking to the back of the shop where the lingerie is kept, the figure disappeared from the camera's view for a few minutes before reappearing on the other side of the room. On his way out, the intruder stopped by the front counter to grab a pop socket before leaving through the front door.
"It was really shocking," Loomis exclaimed.
She was initially surprised that the intruder appeared to be a man, given the items that had been taken. Loomis also recalled locking that particular window once the weather had gotten colder, suggesting someone had unlocked it in the time since. Mostly she was surprised by the intruder's brazenness, and the specificity of the items taken.
"He didn't hesitate, he went right in," she said.
Police Lt. Merlin Ehlers said the matter is still being investigated. The department has a suspect in mind, and he expected charges to be filed sometime this week, by Thursday or Friday.
Loomis said the experience had rattled her at first. "It changes the feel of your space for that day," she said. Things improved after she had made a post on Silver Liningz' Facebook page about the intrusion and the missing items, receiving a warm response from the community. Feedback, suggestions and words of consolation had been sent her way, and Loomis said it "restored my feeling of sanctity."
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