Waterloo, Ont. escape room broken into – again

Waterloo escape room break-in An escape room business in Waterloo is dealing with a break-in for the second time this year. CTV’s Colton Wiens reports.

Most people want to break out of an escape room.

A Waterloo, Ont. business, however, has been broken into – not once – but twice.

According to owner Melisa Vong, someone got inside TRAPPED KW on Sunday morning and left with some of their stuff.

"Basically [they] smashed the handles and used a crowbar to access to the back area," Vong said.

Security video of the incident shows the person grabbing electronics, alcohol, food, a jacket and even some runners.

"They took my size seven and a half women’s Sketchers shoes," Vong said. "Took a bunch of stuff around 1:30 in the morning and then basically left their bike there. [Someone] decided to come back at seven in the morning and then rob us again.”

Investigators with the Waterloo Regional Police Service have determined there were two separate break and enters overnight.

Vong believes it was the same person both times.

"They raided our fridge, stole a bunch of cupcakes, two cans of pop. We have a couple of tablets. These were tablets that we had replaced from the previous break in, and now they were stolen again," she explained. "They also took a remote, but they didn't take the TV.”

Vong said most of the items have already been replaced.

The security video also shows the thief wasn't the smoothest of criminals. At one point, they can be seen spending time searching a safe that's actually a puzzle in one of the rooms.

"He literally went through the escape room as if he thought something valuable was in that safe,” Vong added.

The business was also broken into back in February.

Vong said the person responsible for that incident has since been charged.

"We thought that maybe the first guy getting charged would send some sort of message, but apparently that doesn't really stop anyone.”

After the February incident, they decided not to keep cash inside the business. Additional cameras were also installed and a strong latch is now on the back door.

"I deal with, I guess, bad and negative situations with humour,” Vong explained. “I kind of try to laugh through everything. That's kind of what gets me through it. And at the end of the day, there's not much that we can do. It's kind of out of our hands right now."

Vong said customers have been understanding, adding that she has no plans to move her business.

"At the end of the day, if someone wants to rob you, they're going to rob you and they'll find a way.”

Police said they are still investigating and are asking anyone with information to contact them.