Thieves hit Duncan business 2 times in 26 hours

Goldstone Consignment Boutique in downtown Duncan was recently hit by two smash-and-grab thefts within a 26-hour period. (CTV)

Goldstone Consignment Boutique in downtown Duncan was recently hit by two smash-and-grab thefts within a 26-hour period.

The first break-in occurred around 4 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 25.

“The entire window was smashed and everything out of our window display was taken,” says Amy Caine, co-owner of the business.

Thieves struck again the following day (Jan. 26) around 6 a.m., smashing the glass front door and quickly grabbing whatever was nearby.

On Friday morning, a woman came into the store and grabbed a handful of items and took off.

Caine figures thousands of dollars worth of merchandise was stolen.

“There’s never a good time to get a break-in,” she says. “It’s extremely frustrating.”

In more than a year at its current location on the corner of Canada Avenue and Kenneth Street in downtown Duncan, Goldstone has never dealt with this type of theft before.

In light of what has happened, the small business is looking to increase its security measures and would also like to see more security within the downtown core.

“There’s all sorts of issues that a small business has when it comes to this sort of thing,” Caine adds. “We all know that the crime is increasing.”

North Cowichan Duncan RCMP were called to both break-ins and are investigating.