Portable sauna units worth roughly $75K stolen from owner's lot in Winnipeg
'This is our livelihood': Amir Hamed, Backyard Barrel owner, says theft happened late Friday evening
The owner of a Winnipeg sauna company is worried about his family's livelihood and the future of their business after he said three of their mobile units were stolen from a lot ahead of its busiest season for rentals.
The mobile saunas, made out of cedar and resembling the shape of a barrel, were picked by a grey Dodge Ram, which then drove away from the lot on Archibald Street, Amir Hamed, owner of the Backyard Barrel business, told CBC News.
The theft lasted a number of hours with the first barrel seen towed on surveillance footage at around 11 p.m. Friday and the last just after 3 a.m. on Saturday, Hamed said.
"I honestly never thought they would get stolen, we even had the wheel locks on them … the back doors were locked," he said.
"It's really unfortunate, but we're trying to make the best of it," Hamed said. "They're each worth $25,000, so we have $75,000 roughly missing."
Winnipeg police said they received a report about the incident which will be referred to the property crimes unit for a follow-up investigation.
The Backyard Barrel business operates five mobile units and Hamed said the two that weren't stolen had been rented out.
Hamed had been trying to sell the business to spend more time with his family. He managed to secure a buyer but the deal fell through on Friday and hours later the three mobile units were stolen from his property.
While he doesn't think the sale is related to the theft, both happening on the same day is "a lot of stuff to deal with."
He is afraid the saunas will be torn apart and sold in pieces. But he remains hopeful the units can be recovered without major damages before September when the demand for mobile units starts to soar as temperature begins to drop.
"This is our livelihood and it's going to impact selling it drastically," Hamed said.
He is encouraging people to keep an eye for the units, in case they are listed for sale online. They are trademarked and have a tin roof, a wooden stove and a panoramic window.
With files from Lauren Scott and Santiago Arias Orozco