A couple who had just opened a hair salon in St. Albert are devastated after someone broke into their business and got away with some personal items.

Phil and Lauren Baril said that their hair salon, Voodo Hair Studio located on Renault Crescent in St. Albert, had been open less than a month when the break-in occurred.

One of Lauren’s co-workers called her on Christmas Eve to say that the front door was broken and that several items had been stolen.

Some men's hair products and styling tools were taken, as well as the business’s desktop computer, and a camera.

What saddened the couple the most, was when they realized their personal MacBook Pro that had thousands of photos of their children on it, was also stolen.

“I was absolutely devastated. On my way here all I could think about after hearing we had been broken into was that those photos would be gone,” said Phil.  “Everything else was insignificant, it didn’t matter. It was the photos, it was the video, it was the memories of our children for seven years that brought me to tears.”

The couple spent most of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day searching through buy and sell websites, Kijiji and pawn shops for the stolen laptop.

“The feeling of Christmas felt very sad this year. We spent all of Christmas Eve and Christmas thinking about what we had lost instead of what we were supposed to be celebrating,” Lauren said.

St. Albert RCMP said that they are investigating the break-in and are asking the public for tips.

“We are currently working with our forensic investigative services to try and locate a suspect and we would also like to ask the public for any assistance they can give us. If they are aware of any suspicious vehicles or suspicious people [seen] around that time it would be of great assistance,” said Cst. Subegh Dosanjh with the St. Albert RCMP.

The couple also said they are offering a $2,000 cash reward for the stolen photos, no questions asked.

“We would love to have our pictures back. If anyone out there has any information or you know anyone that’s received a MacBook for Christmas or anyone that’s received any bearded men’s products for Christmas it may be a little, small hint of a clue as to what’s going on here,”  said Lauren.

If you have any information you can contact the St. Albert RCMP at 780-458-7700 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. 

With files from Frazer Snowdon