Police are investigating a series of high-dollar heists from two posh boutiques on Park City's Main Street.
One of the thefts is already being called one of the most costly in Park City's criminal history.
"We believe these people are very, very organized," Park City Police detective Mike Fierro told the Deseret Morning News on Thursday.
Earlier this month, police said, someone made off with seven Cartier watches from the O.C. Tanner store at 416 Main St., valued at more than $106,000. Detectives said a couple came into the store and distracted the two clerks working the floor of the boutique.
"While they were engaged with them, two other people came in and went to a case that contained Cartier watches," Fierro said. The watches were then swiped.
The detective believes the heist was planned and carried out by professionals. "In my opinion, they were professional thieves. They staked this out and knew the optimum time to go in and do it," he said.
Store surveillance cameras picked up some of the heist, and now police are trying to identify some of the people in the grainy pictures. Investigators are comparing them to known suspects in organized shoplifting rings in the western United States and have listed the stolen watches with the National Crime Information Center.
"We put the information out. We're monitoring e-Bay and things like that," Fierro said, adding that they have not had any substantial leads develop yet.
O.C. Tanner representatives had no comment when contacted by the Deseret Morning News on Thursday.
Just last week, police said another high-end theft was reported at the Alaska Fur Gallery, about a block away from O.C. Tanner.
A fur coat worth more than $40,000 was reported missing, although Fierro said it appears the two heists are not connected.
Up and down Main Street, shops sell pricey merchandise to tourists and celebrities alike. In the past, Park City has had thefts of pricey art from galleries. Fierro said officers would like to see more of the stores increase their security. Some are rumored to have very little — if any — surveillance.
"Ultimately, it's the business' decision to weigh the cost of security and the potential of losing property," he said. "We're always available to come and do assessments and to provide the expertise that we can in helping develop better security systems."
E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com