Police in Halifax are trying to figure out who broke into a safe at a popular north end pub early Tuesday.
The safe was found in the parking lot of the Lion’s Head Tavern on Robie Street around 7 a.m.
Police say a woman was walking in the area when she spotted things on the ground in the establishment’s parking lot.
“A lot of picture IDs, a lot of money and I walked around,” describes Dorothy Rideout, who found the safe. “I didn’t know then it was a safe, but I walked around and I seen the safe was broken into and everything was all scattered everywhere.”
Police confirm thieves broke into the pub sometime overnight and dragged the safe outside.
“If other items are also missing, we’ll get that itemized from the owners themselves,” says Const. Brian Palmeter.
Rideout says there was still an amount of cash inside the safe when she arrived on the scene Tuesday morning.
“There was all kinds of money there,” she says. “I picked it up and put it in a box for them.”
Rideout says she never considered keeping the money for herself, nor did other people CTV News spoke with about the incident.
“No, no, no. Karma doesn’t work that way,” says one area resident. “It belongs to someone and if you can help them get their money back, then I would love to do that.”
“Probably not. I’m smart enough to know that if money’s just there, it doesn’t have the best origins, really,” says another.
Palmeter says Rideout did the right thing in contacting police when she stumbled across what she believed was a crime scene.
“You should contact police and report it to us and then if it turns out it’s not recovered, then whoever finds that property is entitled to get that property back,” says Palmeter.
No one was injured in the robbery and police are looking for help from the public in solving the mystery.
They say anyone who noticed anything suspicious around the Lion’s Head overnight should contact them.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ron Shaw
