Additional Coverage:
- Mystery of serial shoe robber solved when camera catches culprit (newsbreak.com)
Kindergarten Shoe Mystery Solved: Weasel Culprit Caught on Camera
Police in southwestern Japan were puzzled by a series of missing shoes from a kindergarten until security cameras captured the unusual thief: a weasel.
The weasel, with a tiny shoe in its mouth, was spotted on video after police set up surveillance in the school. Initially, authorities suspected a human with a shoe fetish, but the footage revealed the furry culprit.
Weasels are known for stashing objects, and the kindergarten’s indoor shoes, kept in cubbyholes, became the perfect target. The weasel scattered shoes around and made off with 15 before police arrived. It returned the next day to steal more.
Camera footage showed the weasel emerging from a wall and targeting the cubbyholes. It then raced away with a white shoe in its mouth, likely to line its nest for winter hibernation.
The stolen shoes were never recovered, but the remaining ones are now protected by nets installed over the cubbyholes. The weasel, believed to be wild, remains at large.
Kindergarten director Yoshihide Saito expressed relief, stating, “We were so relieved.” The children were delighted to see the footage of the shoe-stealing weasel.
While the incident has been amusing, police acknowledge it as an unusual occurrence.
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- Mystery of serial shoe robber solved when camera catches culprit (newsbreak.com)