Thieves carve hole in mall roof to swipe $50K in sneakers: ‘Right out of ”Mission Impossible”
Around 100 boxes of shoes were left at the site of the heist, according to the sheriff. Martin County Sheriff's Office
Florida authorities are investigating a daring overnight robbery in which thieves carved a hole through the roof of a shopping mall and made off with roughly $50,000 worth of sneakers — a crime the local sheriff likened to something “right out of Mission Impossible.”
The heist took place at the Treasure Coast Mall in Martin County, where investigators discovered a gaping hole in the roof above a Champs Sports store. Photos released by the sheriff’s office show stacks of empty Nike and New Balance shoe boxes scattered across the scene.
According to Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek, the suspects struck sometime between midnight and 8 a.m. Tuesday, cutting through layers of concrete and metal to gain entry.
“We had a burglary that appears to be right out of Mission Impossible,” Budensiek told reporters Wednesday. “They didn’t do that with a handsaw. They used electric tools — probably a grinder or saw — and somehow worked for hours without being detected.”
Authorities believe the crew stole approximately 500 pairs of shoes before escaping. “The stolen merchandise was bagged, tagged, thrown off the roof, and loaded into a getaway vehicle,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post. Photos also show several filled bags left behind at the scene, suggesting the thieves fled in a hurry.
Budensiek said it’s still unclear how many suspects were involved or how they managed to navigate from the roof to the store and back out again. While the thieves clearly knew their way around the mall, investigators don’t believe it was an inside job.
“These are organized crime criminals that are probably traveling from place to place,” the sheriff explained. “We anticipate catching them.”
The brazen burglary occurred just days after the high-profile jewel heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Sheriff Budensiek noted that organized retail crime has become an ongoing problem in the county. Law enforcement agencies across Florida have been alerted and are working together to track down the suspects.
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