The owner of Reynolds Antiques and Collectibles in Sooke received the worst news of all on Thursday morning when he discovered the store had been broken into overnight and robbed.
Luke Reynolds said someone broke into a neighbouring room and smashed through the wall to access the store and stole at least $100,000 worth of gold and jewelry.
“We were gearing up for Christmas, so we had a lot of jewelry here, and now it has all disappeared,” Reynolds said. “They took all of our silver and gold but didn’t take any larger objects. It’s just heartbreaking.”
Reynolds said whoever broke into the business knew what they were doing, at least from what he’s seen so far.
It appears that an attempt was made to force open the store’s front and back doors before breaking into a neighbouring room, where a hole just large enough for a person was kicked in the wall separating the room from the main showroom.
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Sooke RCMP confirmed they are investigating the incident.
“We are a mom-and-pop organization, I’ve built this business with my family, and I’ve lived in Sooke my whole life, so if it is people from Sooke that did this, it’s horrible,” Reynolds said.
As a result of the robbery, Reynolds and his family have already been offered community support, and he hopes that whoever committed the crime will return the items. He said even though some of the losses will likely be covered by insurance, it won’t be enough to fully recover them.
Though Reynolds’ stock has been drastically reduced, he remains optimistic about good sales leading up to the holidays. He said the store will remain open for its regular hours while investigations and repairs are being conducted.
Repairs were already underway Thursday afternoon, and increased security measures will be installed.
Anyone with information can contact the police at 250-642-5241 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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