Vancouver police lay charges after theft of wigs made for cancer patients

Vancouver police say they’ve made an arrest in the theft of 150 expensive wigs, including at least 15 meant for young cancer patients.

Police say 52-year-old Martin Weigelt has been charged after a break-in and theft from a specialty wig store on Vancouver’s west side late last summer.

The hairpieces were taken from Eva and Company wigs on Sept. 7, including some that had been painstakingly created with human hair for youngsters recovering from cancer at BC Children’s Hospital.

A bag of 66 wigs was found in the hallway of a Downtown Eastside hotel a week after the theft, but investigators have never said if any of those were for cancer patients.

A news release issued by Vancouver police says Weigelt is well known to them, with 100 criminal convictions dating back three decades.

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The release says Weigelt was arrested Wednesday and remains in custody awaiting a court date next week.

The Canadian Press