Hay River (Nov 06/06) - A recent rash of break-and-enters in Hay River have police puzzled. In several cases people have broken in, but not taken anything.

Three different sets of break-ins in six days have occurred, involving two businesses, a house, two trailers, and an old vehicle. All happened between Oct. 21 and 27.

The first incident occurred on Industrial Drive. Emmanuel's gift shop and The Hair and Body Hut salon were both affected. The businesses share a building. Emmanuel's suffered only a small amount of damage, one small window was smashed by "bigger-sized rocks" according to Const. Julie Snelgrove.

"We figure whoever broke the window was too concerned about glass shards to climb through," said Snelgrove.

The Hair and Body Hut, on the other hand, had their glass door shattered with a rock. Owner Barb Hancock Cooper estimates it will be about $1,000 to fix. Clients now have to enter the building from the back but she said she's just happy it wasn't worse.

"We could see footprints where someone had walked around inside, but nothing was missing," she said.

Snelgrove called the fact that nothing had been taken "strange" .

"It's hard to know what they were looking for," she said of the vandals. "Maybe they just wanted quick cash but that isn't kept there."

The second incident was on the Hay River reserve. Again, nothing was stolen. However, windows in two trailers and a parts vehicle were smashed on Oct. 23, according to Snelgrove.

Everything was still there, she said, but the trailers were "trashed."

"They were opening up boxes, dumping things out, breaking Christmas ornaments and lights," she said.

"They really messed it up inside."

Finally, a home at 42 Dean Drive was broken into between Oct. 26 and 27. The home belongs to R. J. Benoit, owner of Eagle 88 Enterprise, a landscaping company.

There was no damage to the house, said Lucie Benoit, R.J.'s mother and secretary at Eagle 88. However, "they stole two texas mickeys (three-litre bottles)," she said. "One of vodka and one of whisky. They were presents to my son. He had them on display."

Also stolen were a paintball gun and a pellet gun. The guns were "top-notch" according to Lucie. She estimates the cost of everything stolen to be in the $2,000 range.

Investigations are underway into all three incidents. It's hard to say if there is any reason for so many break-ins at one time, said Snelgrove.

She said there are three main times of year that break-ins occur more frequently and this is one of them - September to December.

"Businesses are stocking up for Christmas, people have new computers for the new school year," she said. Also, the increasing darkness provides more cover for crime.

"Darkness and shadows are a burglar's best friends," she said.

Police encourage people to keep property well-lit. "It is a deterrent," to thieves, she said.