Kelowna store out 'tens of thousands of dollars' in stolen sewing machines

More than a dozen high-end sewing machines, ranging in price from $6,000 to $25,000, were stolen during a break and enter at a Kelowna, B.C., business in the early hours of Monday morning.

The incident happened at Linda's Quilt Shoppe, northeast of downtown in the Rutland area of the city. Co-owner Jim Findlay said the loss of so much inventory is a significant blow to the business, especially in the busy Christmas season.

"I'm rushing around today, trying to reorder and trying to recoup as much as we can," Findlay told CBC on Tuesday. "But obviously, we're out tens of thousands of dollars, which will all go through insurance at some point, but that's, I would assume, a couple months down the road. So definitely, financially, it was a big, big hit for us."

Findlay said "about 15 machines" were stolen — mostly floor stock, but also machines still in boxes. Brand names include Janome, Pfaff and Babylock.

Findlay said he arrived at the store — which is closed on Mondays — at about 10:15 a.m. on Monday after he was alerted by a neighbouring business that the front door was wide open. He said he called RCMP and did a walkthrough with them to see what was missing.

Sewing machines were the only items taken.

Large rental van, 4 male suspects

According to Kelowna RCMP, surveillance footage showed a large rental van arriving at the business at approximately 12:30 a.m. Monday. Four males gained entry through the front of the store and "spent a significant amount of time removing the property before departing."

As of Tuesday morning, RCMP have no suspects and no witnesses. They're asking anyone who has dashcam footage or information to contact them.

"This theft was significant and has caused serious financial pressure on this local business trying to survive during these difficult times," said Const. Mike Della-Paolera. "Our teams are investigating this theft using every tool available, including the B.C. RCMP Forensics Unit."

While stolen items often show up for sale online, Della-Paolera told CBC the stolen sewing machines could end up anywhere.

"Sometimes it's Facebook Marketplace, sometimes they'll move them to another part of the province, or another province," he said.

"A high-end sewing machine, that's going to stick out if it shows up on Facebook Marketplace."