RCMP north of Edmonton are searching for three suspects after dinosaur figurines, replicas and electronics were stolen from the Jurassic Forest theme park.
Police were called to a break in at the facility near Gibbons, Alta. just before 5:30 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 2.
Police believe the suspects used the large gate at the entrance of the park to enter the facility, which is closed for the season. Surveillance video shows a U-Haul cube van enter the property and three men enter the business, police said.
“We had several doors that had been opened during the time that they were in the facility,” general manager Greg Suess said on Tuesday.
“They had made quite a mess. I guess the term may be ransacked.
“They did turn over a lot of the equipment, a lot of the administrative stuff we have in our office. But most notably, we started noticing that a fair amount of very important equipment to us had gone missing.”
Several items were stolen, including electronics and computer towers. Large glass dinosaur figurines and replica dinosaur skulls were also taken from the gift shop, RCMP said in a media release Tuesday.
“They did steal some items from our gift shop and they’d be very recognizable,” Suess said.
“One, I believe, was a glass figurine of a T.Rex and I believe the other one was a triceratops or a stegosaurus… The other thing that was taken was some replica fossils. These are not real fossils. They’re not dug out of the ground. They’re sold as display only. Two dionysus skulls were stolen as well as a T.Rex skull.”
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Police are now looking for three men. The suspects are described as:
Male No. 1: Wore black pants, a black winter Canada Goose parka, a grey hoodie with the hood up. He was also wearing white and black gloves.
Male No. 2: Wore blue jeans, a grey sweater or jacket under a black jacket with white and grey stripe. He was also wearing black and yellow gloves. The man had a moustache and goatee and was carrying a crowbar.
Male No. 3: Wore blue jeans, a black bomber style winter jacket, black gloves and a black balaclava.
Jurassic Forest is a 40-acre prehistoric attraction located just minutes north of Edmonton. It’s home to massive, life-sized animatronic dinosaurs, including Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Albertosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex.
“The great news is… they did not damage the facility,” Suess said. “The facility, the building itself, is fine. Everybody wants to know about the dinosaurs. The dinosaurs are fine as well. They’re all going to be ready to go in April.
“We will not let an incident like this affect us. We will not let it interrupt our current operating season.”
Anyone with information on the break in and theft is asked to call the Morinville RCMP at 780-939-4520. Anonymous information can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.
— With files from Emily Mertz