Thieves Came Through Ceiling to Steal $50,000 in Sneakers from a Florida Mall

There’s been a lot of chatter on Sneaker Twitter this week about which shoes got robbed of their spot on various Sneaker of the Year lists. But while everyone was distracted by the discourse, a bunch of actual sneakers were actually robbed from a Florida mall. Right under our noses.

According to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, a crew of mask-clad thieves carved a hole in the solid concrete roof of the Treasure Coast Mall in search of treasure, and then likely the coast. The burglars entered through the ceiling and stole between 400-500 pairs of Nike and New Balance sneakers from the Champs Sports before disappearing in a getaway car. Reebok and adidas officials were reportedly shocked, then weirdly disappointed, and ultimately just a little bit dejected if they’re being honest.

Authorities are asking for the public’s assistance in finding the criminal masterminds and urge you to come forward if you know anything about the heist, which occurred some time between midnight and 8 AM on October 21. Not much is known about the suspects, but one thing we can all agree on is they only pulled off the 2nd coolest heist of the last couple weeks.

"Not quite the Crown Jewels — but it’s clear these sneaker thieves put the same time and effort into their crime," the Sheriff's Office posted on social. "The stolen merchandise was bagged, tagged, thrown off the roof, and loaded into a getaway vehicle. As you can see, some of the goods got hastily left behind."

It’s estimated that the stolen sneakers are worth up to $50,000 and the mall’s now-gaping roof will cost another $10,000 to repair.

"These are organized criminals … that made their way to Martin County, got off with a sizable amount of product," Sheriff John Budensiek said. “They didn’t do that with a handsaw. They used electric tools — probably a grinder or saw — and somehow worked for hours without being detected.”

Who Stole the Sneakers?

Well, the hard-hitting journalism of Sole Retriever isn’t limited to figuring out the toppings of the hot dog on the Costco Dunk insoles. We do real investigations, too. But before we crack this case open wider than a Jellyfish, we’re wondering if there is a reward? Didn’t see that detail in any of the news coverage.

Either way, let us know. Because we basically know exactly who stole 50k worth of kicks from the mall. At the very least, we’ve narrowed it down to three suspects.

Exhibit A: Channing Tatum

The superstar actor is jetsetting around the globe promoting his new movie “Roofman” but who’s to say his helicopter didn’t drop him on the roof of the Treasure Coast in between premieres? The film is based on the true story of a career criminal who—get this—cuts holes in the ceilings of over 40 McDonald’s and then breaks out of prison once finally caught robbing one. After escaping, the fugitive hides in the roof of a Toys R’ Us and lives there for months undetected. Critics are calling it the role of a lifetime for Channing Tatum, who is said to have delved deep into character and employed a heightened level of method acting to portray the infamous thief, Jeffrey Manchester, even speaking with him in prison over the phone numerous times.

“I got more than I could possibly convey. I just found myself being held almost by him, taken care of,” Tatum says. “I didn’t grow up bad. But I definitely am a couple bad decisions away from (hopefully not) being in jail for 45 years. But I think we’re all one or two bad decisions away from having a completely different life. Jeff did tell me, ‘I got greedy.’”

Did Channing himself take the part a little too far? Did he get… greedy? We’ll have to check inside the ceiling of Champs Sports to know for sure.

Exhibit B: Those Train Robbers

Remember when the CoolKicks guy got raided right as he was about to sell some College Dropout Bapestas on Whatnot for $189? Well it turned out that his arrest was connected with a massive train-robbing ring that was stealing millions of dollars in sneakers and other products from freight trains.

But did authorities catch every single perpetrator involved with the heist? No shot. So, what do you do if all you know is a life of crime but you can’t knock off trains anymore? You switch it up and go Mission Impossible style through the roof instead of the caboose.

If you buy a pair of Vomero 5s on Tik-Tok Shop and they smell like Wetzel’s Pretzels, we can nail the rest of this crew once and for all.

Exhibit C: Champs Sports

I hate to even suggest this but it’s sadly the most likely answer. Champs is no longer the champ, unfortunately, and they were swallowed up by Foot Locker some years back. Now, Dick’s Sporting Goods is buying up Foot Locker and has decided to close hundreds of Champs Sports locations. That’s a lot of Panda Dunks and 9060s to unload before the storefronts become Spirit Halloweens. If they knew how to quickly move that kind of inventory, well…

Just spitballing here but maybe a Champs exec trying to earn a roster spot on the Dick’s team suggests, ‘Hey, I met a guy at a Chauncey Billups poker game who can help us clean this place out and score a payday from the insurance company.'

Quite the liquidation sale, hmmm.

Drew London

Drew oversees content at Sole Retriever and hates writing in the 3rd person soooo I'm going to stop. I've written for countless blogs and magazines, from Complex to XXL and everywhere in between. Spent a long time in LA, running content and working on branded collabs at The Hundreds. Now, I'm back home on the East Coast freezing my ass off. Email me at drew@soleretriever.com with scoops, story ideas, and size 13 heat.