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Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Thieves make off with cedar saunas
City police are searching for three 12-foot-tall saunas that were stolen from a business parking lot at the start of the long weekend. The Backyard Barrel is missing three of its five portable saunas, each of which is worth roughly $30,000 and used for multi-day rentals. The co-owners of the company are pleading for the public to keep an eye out for the inventory they say was nabbed on Friday by multiple people equipped with a grey Dodge Ram truck. SUPPLIED The Backyard Barrel is missing three of its five portable wood-fired saunas. Cristen Hamed said she panicked upon discovering the parking lot at 550 Archibald St., where she and her husband store their saunas with wheel locks, was empty on Saturday morning. 'They're always there, these giant 12-foot saunas, they're an eyesore — and it was just dead,' Hamed recalled. The mother of two said her family cancelled their long weekend plans and instead searched security footage and filed a police report. The footage shows at least two people showed up to the lot at 10:30 p.m. Friday and began loading in a sauna, she said. Hamed said the crew of thieves returned twice around 2:30 a.m. and 4 a.m., respectively. They cut off locks each time in order to hook a wood-fired sauna up to their truck, she said, noting the locks were strewn on the boulevard the next day. 'It was really sad to see them just dragged off,' Hamed said. It was equally upsetting to discover security cameras caught the same truck visiting the St. Boniface site — which houses the couple's other business, Kid City Archibald — earlier on Friday, she said. The Winnipeg Police Service confirmed it had received multiple reports about the stolen items. Const. Stephen Spencer, of the WPS public information office, said the case has been referred to the property crimes unit. Officers are checking security footage, interviewing witnesses and proceeding with other typical investigative practises, Spencer said. Wednesdays A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom. Hamed said her family has reason to believe the suspects in question have targeted other local businesses. While noting the saunas are made of cedar, a valuable material that could be used for other purposes, the business owners are hopeful their saunas will be recovered intact, she said. 'They could take it apart, sand it down and use it for something else, but it's all welded together so that won't be easy,' Hamed said. She added that they are lucky to be in the middle of a slow season as their five saunas are usually fully booked every weekend between October and May. Maggie MacintoshEducation reporter Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie. Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative. Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Portable sauna units worth roughly $75K stolen from owner's lot in Winnipeg
The owner of a Winnipeg sauna company is worried about his family's livelihood and the future of their business after he said three of their mobile units were stolen from a lot ahead of its busiest season for rentals. The mobile saunas, made out of cedar and resembling the shape of a barrel, were picked by a black Dodge Ram, which then drove away from the lot on Archibald Street, Amir Hamed, owner of the Backyard Barrel business, told CBC News. The theft lasted a number of hours with the first barrel seen towed on surveillance footage at around 11 p.m. Friday and the last just after 3 a.m. on Saturday, Hamed said. "I honestly never thought they would get stolen, we even had the wheel locks on them … the back doors were locked," he said. "It's really unfortunate, but we're trying to make the best of it," Hamed said. "They're each worth $25,000, so we have $75,000 roughly missing." Winnipeg police said they received a report about the incident which will be referred to the property crimes unit for a follow-up investigation. The Backyard Barrel business operates five mobile units and Hamed said the two that weren't stolen had been rented out. Hamed had been trying to sell the business to spend more time with his family. He managed to secure a buyer but the deal fell through on Friday and hours later the three mobile units were stolen from his property. While he doesn't think the sale is related to the theft, both happening on the same day is "a lot of stuff to deal with." He is afraid the saunas will be torn apart and sold in pieces. But he remains hopeful the units can be recovered without major damages before September when the demand for mobile units starts to soar as temperature begins to drop. "This is our livelihood and it's going to impact selling it drastically," Hamed said. He is encouraging people to keep an eye for the units, in case they are listed for sale online. They are trademarked and have a tin roof, a wooden stove and a panoramic window.
CBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Portable sauna units worth roughly $75K stolen from owner's lot in Winnipeg
The owner of a Winnipeg sauna company is worried about his family's livelihood and the future of their business after he said three of their mobile units were stolen from a lot ahead of its busiest season for rentals. The mobile saunas, made out of cedar and resembling the shape of a barrel, were picked by a black Dodge Ram, which then drove away from the lot on Archibald Street, Amir Hamed, owner of the Backyard Barrel business, told CBC News. The theft lasted a number of hours with the first barrel seen towed on surveillance footage at around 11 p.m. Friday and the last just after 3 a.m. on Saturday, Hamed said. "I honestly never thought they would get stolen, we even had the wheel locks on them … the back doors were locked," he said. "It's really unfortunate, but we're trying to make the best of it," Hamed said. "They're each worth $25,000, so we have $75,000 roughly missing." Winnipeg police said they received a report about the incident which will be referred to the property crimes unit for a follow-up investigation. The Backyard Barrel business operates five mobile units and Hamed said the two that weren't stolen had been rented out. Hamed had been trying to sell the business to spend more time with his family. He managed to secure a buyer but the deal fell through on Friday and hours later the three mobile units were stolen from his property. While he doesn't think the sale is related to the theft, both happening on the same day is "a lot of stuff to deal with." He is afraid the saunas will be torn apart and sold in pieces. But he remains hopeful the units can be recovered without major damages before September when the demand for mobile units starts to soar as temperature begins to drop. "This is our livelihood and it's going to impact selling it drastically," Hamed said. He is encouraging people to keep an eye for the units, in case they are listed for sale online. They are trademarked and have a tin roof, a wooden stove and a panoramic window.
