NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Surveillance video captured the moments a North Myrtle Beach shop owner says a man and woman stole baby clothing Saturday.
They got away with about $120 worth of merchandise from Noah’s Ark Baby Shop, and while that number in itself does not sound like a huge amount of money, owner Stephannie Massi said any amount affects a small business like hers.
“We have all these big corporate companies coming up around us and we struggle,” she said in her shop Monday. “And to see somebody come in and make a joke out of stealing from us it hurts us, they kicked us where it hurts.”
The thieves primarily targeted the back part of the store, and the surveillance video captures them putting clothes and necklaces in their bags and jackets. Massi said the couple hid empty hangers behind other clothes, and it’s those hangers that alerted employees something was wrong.
Noah’s Ark has been her life for the past five years. “We’re here every day of the week, and to sit there and allow that to happen is very hard for us.”
She said $120 is a lot of money for her store, which sells many of their items for cheap. “We have 10 cent bins and 25 cent racks. That’s ten pieces of clothing for a dollar,” she said. “We can’t afford that loss.”
The thieves were in and out in about three minutes, but their every move was captured on a little camera shaped like a minion from the movie ‘Despicable Me.’ “We were able to see everything they were seeing,” Massi said. “They’re unhanging outfits and shoving them in purses and jackets sleeves, anywhere they could have put them.”
News13 asked if she thought the woman was stealing for herself. “She didn’t look pregnant to me,” Massi responded, but said she also does not think they were flipping for a profit. “She’s being picky. Somebody that’s coming in to flip clothes would be grabbing anything and anything.”
While there are no official suspect names, people on social media have told Massi they recognize the couple. She has this message for whoever they are:
“For all of us working class citizens, we don’t agree with it. Buy what you need, not steal what you need.”
She said she thinks the incident is connected to a similar one that happened in October down at Sparkles at Broadway at the Beach. An employee there told News13 on the phone Monday that they recognize the man in the Noah’s Ark video. They think he helped steal about $115 dollars’ worth of items from them.
According to North Myrtle Beach Police Detective William Lynch, the department is taking all of this into consideration and working to track down these people.
