Some Edmontonians may have seen interesting, and unusual photos show up on their social media feeds Monday – they’re from the account of a popular gift shop, in the hopes of identifying and catching an alleged thief.
On Sunday, August 17, it’s alleged a woman went into When Pigs Fly – and during her visit, stole two wallets and a cell phone from store employees.
One of those employees is Mia Edmundsson.
“I don’t have my ID or my driver’s licence, my credit card from Sweden is hard to get,” Edmundsson said, calling it frustrating and sad.
A police report was filed, but the operators of the store decided to take matters into their own hands – taking stills from surveillance footage showing the female suspect, posting them on the store's Facebook page, then offering a reward and asking people to share the images.
Over 24 hours, the photos were shared more than 500 times.
“I thought if we could share it with as many people as possible, we could catch this person,” Anne Zorzetto, an employee at When Pigs Fly, said.
It’s a measure one shopper told CTV News he agreed with.
“People can say about invasion of privacy and all that stuff, but in cases like this, I like that we have that outlet that we can use,” Dean Boysen said.
Surveillance footage of the individual was released to CTV News, the video shows the suspect browsing in the store, before she stepped out of frame. She reappears in the video minutes later, and she appears to be stuffing something into her bag.
An Edmonton Police Service spokesperson did not provide an interview Monday, but said it was legal for the store to release the photos, although it’s not a measure police encourage.
Posters showing the suspect were also put up in the store too.
“Holding people accountable for their probably poor choices is important as well, because people think they can just get away with it,” Walter Schwabe, an expert in social media, said.
With files from Veronica Jubinville
