ST. GEORGE — Police are looking for two suspects they said broke into two vehicles outside the Hurricane Fine Arts Center Thursday afternoon and stole valuables including purses and at least one firearm.
The Hurricane Police have released closed-circuit television of the two suspects after they used cards stolen from the purses to attempt to purchase gift cards.
Authorities said at around 5 p.m., two vehicles had their forward windows smashed. Purses, wallets and a weapon inside one of the purses were among the items taken. Rehearsals for the Miss Hurricane Pageant were taking place inside the center.
Hurricane Police Officer Ken Thompson said both vehicles were locked, and in at least one of them the valuables were visable through the window.
Witnesses told police the suspects were driving a dark-colored, large SUV with California plates.
Logan Scow, who lives in Arizona, told St. George News it was his girlfriend and daughter-in-law’s cars that were broken into. He said one of them had a concealed weapons permit and a handgun was in one of the purses taken.
But Scow said it wasn’t just the weapon being taken that has shaken them.
“The monetary side is easy to fix, but your entire life is in your purse,” Scow said. “There were personal belongings that had sentimental value.”
As a former resident of Hurricane, Scow also said he was befuddled to see such an incident in his old community. He also said the parking lot was full of vehicles because of the pageant and he is surprised no one did anything to stop the incident.
According to authorities, the two suspects used cards from the wallets and the purses to try to purchase gift cards at the Walgreens in Hurricane, then at a Smith’s Grocery in St. George.
Closed-circuit cameras captured the male and female suspects at the Walgreens around 5:30 p.m. Authorities did not disclose which Smith’s in St. George it was where the suspects were last seen at around 8 p.m. Thursday. St. George Police sent units to join in the investigation.
Scow said the cards were canceled before the suspects could use them. He said the incident was a lesson in being conscious about what is being left in your car. A sentiment echoed by Hurricane’s Thompson.
“We would like if people removed their valuables,” Thompson said. “If nothing is in the vehicles to steal, they won’t be.”
Hurricane Police encourage anyone with more information or can identify those in the surveillance footage to call them at 435-627-4999 and reference incident #20H000885.
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