The Anchorage Police Department says it’s seeing an uptick in burglaries in midtown Anchorage. Spokeswoman Jennifer Castro said the break-ins have mostly occurred at businesses, but also some residences.
She said the area that is being hit extends about a mile outward from the intersection of Northern Lights Boulevard and Arctic Boulevard.
One midtown salon has been broken into five times in the last six weeks. Stylist Michelle Koch said it’s been particularly frustrating because they increased security during that period, including changing the locks.
“He came last Wednesday and again on Saturday, so we were going, ‘wait a minute how is this possible?'” Koch said of one suspect. “It’s been crazy.”
The salon thief. Courtesy Anchorage Police Department
Recently the salon’s owners installed a hidden video camera, which gave them a better idea of what was going on. The thief, who they thought had keys to the business, was actually jimmying the new lock.
Footage from the camera shows a young man rummaging through cupboards and, at one point, picking up the camera and stealing that too. But it also gave them a clear look at his face.
The image is so good that police posted it to a new section of their Facebook page that asks the public for help identifying thieves.
“When we have really good quality surveillance like this and we are having trouble or issues identifying that person of interest in that case, we are now sharing it on our social media to see if we can get any possible identifications on these folks,” Castro explained.
Castro said the photo was posted to the website Saturday and since then, they’ve received multiple tips.
“I think there’s a very good chance for it to move forward and result in an arrest,” she said.
Back at the salon, Koch was glad to hear the suspect could soon be off the street.
“I’m very relieved to hear that, hopefully we can get that done soon,” she said.
She’ll be happy to get back to business as usual.
KTVA 11’s Lauren Maxwell can be reached via email or on Twitter.
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