SEATTLE — In Seattle, the search is on for two thieves who targeted a small business early Wednesday morning.
It happened at Wild Mountain Café located in the 1400 block of NW 85th Street. Just before 230 a.m., surveillance cameras captured two burglars moving through the business as the cafe's alarm was blaring.
"It was really hard to watch them. It felt like they're in your home,” said Desirae Aylesworth, the owner of Wild Mountain Café.
She received an alert about the break-in from her security system and called 911 while simultaneously watching a live feed of her cameras.
"I was freaking out, you know. You're panicking, like the adrenaline in your body, my heart was just racing,” she said.
Aylesworth said officers arrived just as the burglars got away.
"You just, you never think it's going to happen to you,” she said.
Seattle police data shows, citywide, there were more than 7,300 burglaries at homes and businesses so far this year. Last month alone there were 761 incidents reported. In 2023, more than 8,500 burglaries were reported.
At Wild Mountain Café, the thieves took more than $2,000 worth of tips. The business will also have to fix two doors that were damaged during the burglary.
"That's tough for us. We operate on such a small margin,” said Aylesworth.
On social media, the business is calling out the "culinary crooks" for taking "very hard-earned cash from our VERY hard-working employees."
"I would definitely like these two to be held accountable,” the owner said.
The suspects were described at two males in light-colored hoodies. One was also wearing a backpack, and one had on black pants.
A community fundraiser is underway to help Wild Mountain Café rebound from the break-in.