coffee business strategies

Police artist’s sketch of the victim.

Disturbing news came across the wire this afternoon from Jackson, Michigan. It appears that a Bearclaw Coffee mascot has been taken hostage.

Columbia Township police were continuing to investigate a series of larcenies and break-ins they believe occurred over the weekend in Brooklyn.

Among the items stolen was a 6-foot-tall wooden bear that sat in front of Bearclaw Coffee Co. at 250 S. Main St., said Columbia Township Police Chief David Elwell.

The wooden bear was last seen Friday afternoon and gone by Saturday morning, according to a township news release. It was reported missing Monday.

That same night, 15 storage units at Accessible Self Storage at 505 Monroe Ave. near Irwin Street were burglarized sometimes after dark, according to the news release.

Let me get this right. Somebody stole goods from self storage and some parked cars, then decided to top off their score with a 6-ft wooden bear statue? One would expect a 6-ft bear statue to be rather conspicuous, though perhaps not in Jackson, Michigan.