BCSO: Suspects cut through walls at Tanger Outlet, stole $1M worth of sunglasses
Jan 16, 2025
BLUFFTON, S.C. (WSAV) -The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) is investigating a robbery at the Tanger Outlet in Bluffton where suspects reportedly cut through walls and stole $1 million worth of merchandise.
According to BCSO, deputies responded to a burglary report at the Salty Dog Café retail store that led into Sunglass Hut and Claire's, located at 1414 Fording Island Rd.
An employee of Salty Dog toured deputies through the store where at least one of the cash register drawers had been pried open, but there was no cash inside prior to the incident. There were also four holes in the drywall to the left side of the store from the entrance. These holes appeared to have been made by a Sawzall, an incident report said.The first hole was a square cut that stopped after the first wall. The second hole was in the changing room of Salty Dog, that went all the way through to Sunglass Hut, and the cutting by the suspects appeared to have cut some sort of water line that leaked.
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There were two more cuts made. One was in the office of the back storeroom, and the other went through to the store, Claire's, which was discovered later.
Other investigators later arrived at the scene. The surveillance system still appeared to be intact, and a worker said she spoke with her manager to provide a copy of the footage.
When investigators entered Sunglass Hut, nearly every display item had been removed and the entire surveillance security system and phone lines had been cut and taken. There was a noticeable hole in the wall from where the suspects had cut a hole through the Salty Dog. An estimated 1,600 pairs of sunglasses were stolen, totaling around $1 million.
An employee of Claire's turned investigators onto another hole in the back room of the store. The store's cash drawer was, according to BCSO, pried open in the same fashion as the Salty Dog's. There was no cash in the drawer before the incident.
The damage in the walls, paint and electronics of each store will total multiple thousands of dollars worth of repairs, officials said.
The Claire's employee told investigators that after she closed up and went to her car, which was parked in the back parking lot of Tanger 2 behind the Salty Dog, she noticed a black or darker-colored vehicle parking. Two females exited the vehicle.
Both females were heavier set and approximately 5'05" with one female being Black and having braids while the other was white or Hispanic with long straight hair.Officers said there were no exterior surveillance cameras on any of the stores. The Salty Dog retail store is continuing to review their surveillance system.
All three stores have been closed off with crime scene tape to keep the general population from entering the stores as the investigation continues.
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