Despite lights blazing from the windows of an Oro-Medonte home, a pair of brazen thieves sneaked on to the property, cut a gas line and carted off the homeowners' expensive barbecue.
“It was 11:15 p.m. We were up and even heard something,” said Victoria, who didn't want her last name used. “My husband figured it was an animal or nothing to worry about, so we left it.”
Video surveillance at the home caught the two culprits as they carried the $1,600 barbecue through the yard on April 9.
The family called the OPP, who told them that theft has been rampant in Barrie, Oro-Medonte and Orillia since the start of COVID-19 and physical-distancing measures.
From talking to her neighbours, Victoria learned of some other incidents. But what shocked and scared her most was the brazeness of the barbecue theft.
“It wasn’t like it was 2 a.m. or something. It was still a house where people were awake,” Victoria said. “They jumped the fence, cut the gas line attached to the barbecue, carried it through the back and down our driveway to their truck.
"It blows my mind," she added.
A neighbour told Victoria they saw the truck and said it was either white or silver.
Making matters worse is that Victoria and her husband are front-line health-care workers and already feel unsafe at their places of work. Now they have a similar feeling within the walls of their own home.
“It really scares me how they just didn’t care and they were likely scoping the house out previously before stealing it," Victoria said.
Provincial police say they haven't seen a noticeable increase in crime since COVID-19 took root.
Orillia OPP Const. Martin Hill said it would seem crime has been the same since the beginning of the health crisis, but there's possibly a difference in the crimes committed.
"I believe the feeling is that crime is about status quo. There were 93 Criminal Code briefs in the first two weeks, which is about the same," said Hill. "I am sure if we delved deeper into the numbers the types of crimes people are committing would be a bit different, but for the most part not much has changed."
Meanwhile in the city of Barrie, which has its own municipal police department, communication co-ordinator Peter Leon said there have been a number of crimes of opportunity reported, especially when the COVID-19 crisis first began.
“For some people, these are challenging times and many reports of entered vehicles are coming in,” Leon said.
“We suggest, as we always do, to make sure your car doors are locked, your valuables are put away and items on your property are secured," he added.
Victoria knows they aren't likely to get their barbecue back, but she hopes her story will prevent someone from being victimized the same way.
“I don’t think these guys will be caught. I hope so, but I just want everyone to be aware that stuff is being taken at all hours of the day,” she said.
