VANCOUVER -- The Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association is asking for the public to be on the lookout for its giant popcorn mascot, which was recently stolen.
The beloved mascot named "Poppy" is usually out and about during Summer Movie Nights events at the Vancouver Art Gallery, but the BIA says the popcorn costume was taken from a secure downtown storage locker sometime on Wednesday.
Charles Gauthier, head of the downtown BIA, says the mascot is custom-made by a company in Burnaby that specializes in these types of costumes, and it's worth thousands of dollars. While other items were also taken from the locker, the costume was the only item of value that was stolen.
Gauthier says, however, that there is a possible lead on who took Poppy.
"Apparently a Vancouver police constable noticed an individual with an eight-foot duffel bag, which is what Poppy is stored in. And it raised the alarm bells of the police officer, who stopped the individual and had him open the bag. And when he asked where he got that, he said he found it in the garbage," Gauthier says.
The police officer was able to get the person's details, and now needs to locate that individual.
"But it's possible that costume has now been sold or maybe it's on the market somewhere, we don't know," he says.
The BIA is offering a small reward for Poppy's safe return, but Gauthier is baffled as to why someone would steal the popcorn mascot in the first place.
"That's the $64,000 question. Why would people steal something that would be easily identifiable? There's not going to be another thing that looks like it in the Lower Mainland, and I don't know how they're going to get rid of it because the moment it's out there in the public realm, we're going to be able to identify it relatively quickly," he says. "It just bewilders me."
Gauthier says while the theft of the giant, smiling mascot has provided some degree of comic relief, it still reflects the larger issue of businesses dealing with a spike of break and enters during the pandemic.
"It speaks to a huge problem that we've had," he says. "It's just rubbing salt into a wound for these people who are already suffering."
And while someone suggested on Twitter that Poppy could be worn as a Halloween costume, Gauthier says it's unlikely the person dressing-up would go unnoticed.
"We're going to find you if you wear that in public," he said. "It won't be easy for someone to get away with this."
The BIA has also filed a report with the Vancouver Police Department, which has asked anyone with information about the theft to phone them or Crime Stoppers.
On Tuesday, VPD announced they had arrested 40 suspects and recommended charges in connection to recent commercial break and enter crimes. Police even installed a trailer camera for increased surveillance in Vancouver's downtown core after they raised concerns in March about commercial break and enters.
Many businesses in the downtown area have also boarded up their windows or removed all of their product to help deter thieves and break-ins. The BIA also took the step of hiring its own security guards to patrol the downtown area and described the uptick in commercial break-ins as unprecedented.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Ben Miljure
