Police looking for South Troy bikini bandit
Homeowners say 17 bathing suits stolen from clothesline
TROY >> City police are looking for a person caught on home surveillance video stealing bathing suits from a South Troy backyard.
The bikini bandit has been hitting the same home since May and the homeowners, who captured the video from a hidden security camera, said they have had 17 bathing suits stolen from their backyard clothesline in recent months.
The most recent video footage, from Tuesday morning, shows a man grabbing more bikinis off the clothesline. The homeowner’s son, Jeff Belschwinder, is a police and fire scene photographer who also provides photos to The Record. He posted the most recent video on his Sidewinder Photography Facebook Page, hoping the public can help police identify the thief.
“We thought it was kids in the neighborhood stealing them,” said Belschwinder, “but we were wrong. It was this guy in the video, so I posted it on social media after filing two police reports about it.”
City police spokesman Capt. Daniel DeWolf confirmed they have seen the video and are following up on any leads related to it.
Belschwinder said the burglaries are happening at a duplex he shares with his parents and sister. He said the swimsuits are hung on a clothesline near the family’s hot tub.
“This is very disturbing in what’s going on here in my own backyard,” Belschwinder said. “We just want the person that is doing this to get help. We want to stop it here before it gets worse.”