Authorities in Ohio are probing an absolutely bizarre right shoe robbery at a boutique shoe store in downtown Cincinnati.
Right shoe robbery stumps cops
On October 8, around 2 a.m., three drunken thieves broke into Sole Bros 513 and made off with 100 shoes—but only the right ones—alongside some complete pairs and clothing.
Hunter Emigh, the Cincinnati store owner, received an alert from his security system at about 3 a.m.
He told WCPO 9 News that he dashed to the location, missing the suspects by just under 20 minutes.
Surveillance footage released by the Cincinnati Police Department shows one suspect clutching an armload of shoes while checking out other store merchandise.
Another clip reveals a different suspect taking a drink from a liquor bottle, passing it to the other suspect.
“They might have been drunk and just came in here on a whim, but I really don’t know,” said Emigh said about the robbers.
When he arrived at the store Emigh was dismayed to find “ransacked” shoe boxes piled high, each containing only left shoes.
“I realized that they took almost every other shoe to a lot of the pairs that were on the wall,” he said about the seemingly pointless robbery. “It was, like, a demoralizing thing.”
Right shoe theft damages small business
The incident has reportedly cost Sole Bros around $45,000 and could possibly cause the demise of the business.
“Man, some days, it’s hard. I will say that,” admitted the store owner. “After this happened, I told my employees straight up, ‘I’m (going to) just close.’ Literally, I was done with it.”
He made a public plea to anyone with information about the break-in to come forward.
In an effort to catch the culprits, Emigh posted the surveillance videos on social media, hoping the the community could help figure out the identity of the suspects.
“If anyone has any information, recognizes these people, or anything related to it, reach out and let us know,” he posted.
“Share this, show your friends, if you hear anything or see anything reach out.”
“I know someone’s boy has a limp now after jumping out the window,” he added. “I know someone knows the drunk dude who took over 100 right shoes. I know someone knows the lady who knows she shouldn’t have been there.”
Not the first time the business has suffered
This isn’t the first challenge for Sole Bros has faced—at one point, a car crashed through its previous location’s front doors.
“This business and entrepreneurship has been a true test of everything for me,” Emigh shared.
Despite the setback to his business and he doesn’t want to let the theft tarnish his spirit.
“I’ve been moving closer to God and trying to learn the ways that he lived, the ways that we should be living,” Emigh said after the incident.
“[I] could be mad every day, and I’m still upset, but I don’t want to carry any more hate in my heart,” he noted.
