Burglars Steal from Vermont Hair Salon Donation Jar that Pays for Wigs for Children with Cancer

The burglary occurred on Tuesday morning

Police in South Burlington, Vermont, are investigating a burglary in which two men are suspected of stealing donations for a children's cancer charity.

"You're stealing from children? That's awful," said Lynn Wilkinson, the owner of a hair salon called The Mane House on Williston Road. "These guys are just thugs. I'm sorry, but they're thugs."

Detectives said the crime was discovered at 7 a.m. on Tuesday.

Wilkinson told necn the donation jar likely only held $40-60, because she emptied it a few weeks ago to send money to a charity called "Wigs For Kids." She said also raises funds for another charity called "Children With Hair Loss."

"They're going to get theirs," Wilkinson said of the burglars. "They will, eventually. What goes around comes around."

Along with providing cuts and colors at her salon for a wide range of clients, Wilkinson also helps cancer patients feel pretty by guiding the creation and styling of custom wigs for clients who expect to lose hair to chemotherapy, or who have alopecia or other conditions that cause hair loss.

Footage from a surveillance camera hidden in Wilkinson's business shows two men, wearing hoodies and bananas to block their faces, moving throughout the salon. They use their cell phones for light as they examine various rooms in the business, the video shows.

In audio picked up in the recording, the men swear several times and express frustration that there is no big haul. One of the men grumbled, "there's no safe or nothing."

Then, the men discuss their getaway. "We'll run through the woods," one can be heard saying.

Mary Heinrich Aloi of Burlington is a breast cancer survivor who said she hopes the video points detectives to the pair, who she'd like to see meet cancer patients face-to-face as part of their punishment.

"To steal it is sickening, honestly," Heinrich Aloi said of the donation money. "They should visit the kids. How heart-wrenching would that be? Maybe they need to do something for the children."

Wilkinson said several of her clients Tuesday heard about the break-in and offered generous donations to restore what was stolen.

The South Burlington Police Department asked anyone with information about the burglary to contact Detective Corporal Andrew Johnson at 802-846-4217.

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