Hair salon recovering from pandemic hit again by thieves

Wig thieves leave behind a clue Vancouver police are searching for two thieves they say broke into a hair salon and stole tens of thousands of dollars in wigs.

Vancouver — A Vancouver hair studio that specializes in wigs and extensions has been hit for a second time this year by thieves, who made off with tens of thousands of dollars in merchandise.

On Wednesday, Vancouver police released surveillance video showing a pair of suspects breaking in through the glass front door of Jo Hair Studio on Cambie Street on the morning of June 3.

Video shows the pair – both wearing hoodies – ransacking the shop, stealing hair extensions and wigs, some of which are valued at more than $3,000 apiece.

Salon manager Elise Murphy said she felt shocked and defeated by a crime she called heartless.

“We’ve all been laid off, and we had all come back, and were so excited to come back,” Murphy said.

Vancouver Police Department spokesperson Const. Tania Visitin called the theft “very distressing,” in part because the wigs the thieves stole are meant for cancer patients going through chemotherapy and people who have conditions like alopecia.

It’s also not the first time thieves have targeted the hair salon.

Visitin told CTV News a female suspect broke in during the early hours of March 8 and stole some $50,000 in products.

That suspect was also recorded on surveillance video.

“To have this happen a second time has been really, really deflating for us,” Murphy said.

Police describe the first suspect in the June incident as a slim man wearing a dark hoodie, dark pants and black Nike shoes.

They describe his cohort as a man with a medium build, wearing a light hoodie, dark pants and shoes and two-toned gloves.

Murphy said the suspects drove away in an older model white van with a covered plate, but during the burglary, which she said lasted less than 30 seconds, they left something behind.

“One of them dropped a set of keys,” Murphy said. “So maybe something will come of it.”

Murphy said she thinks insurance will cover both thefts, and the shop now plans to install a security gate.

“We could barely keep afloat the last two months,” Murphy said. “It’s really stressful. And so to add this to it is really disheartening for us all.”

Anyone with information about either theft is asked to call the VPD’s Property Crime Unit at 604-717-2773 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.