A bizarre theft has a Ucluelet storeowner perplexed.
Anita Marie Lea traveled to Port Alberni Sunday to take her five-year-old daughter Halle to the hospital to receive treatment for a broken collarbone and returned Monday evening to discover her In Style Snuggle Bunnies storefront sign had been snatched.
She said the sign was in place on Sunday when she arrived at the store to pick up the prizes for the Ukee Days Baby Race contest, which she sponsors.
“I left for Port after that and when we got back Monday around dinner, it wasn’t there,” she said.
In Style Snuggle Bunnies recently moved from its original location to a spot next door at 1972 Peninsula Road and the roughly 3’ by 4’ quarter-inch plastic sign was leaning against the front outside wall of the new location when it was taken.
“It’s pretty big,” Lea said of the sign. “I don’t even know what the heck somebody would want with a huge Snuggle Bunnies sign…A few people were saying that some people like to steal signs to collect and hang in their garage, or maybe a kid took it and threw it in the bush, who knows?”
Lea has been operating the popular youth clothing store for about three years and said this is the first time the store has ever been robbed of anything.
She estimated the sign, which likely carries minimal monetary value, would cost roughly $250 to replace, a significant blow to the small local business.
“It’s totally frustrating,” she said.
Anyone who spots the sign is encouraged to contact the Ucluelet RCMP at 250-726-7773.