Thieves Take Thousands In Formal Gowns From Broken Arrow Boutique

A Broken Arrow boutique owner is coming to grips with an overnight burglary that resulted in thousands of dollars' worth of formal and prom dresses being stolen.

Owner Chrystal Rutherford said, as difficult as this loss is for her business, it's even tougher breaking the news to the girls who were expecting to have their dresses ready for dances going on this weekend.

For nearly two decades, Rutherford has been stitching and hemming clothing inside her shop on Main Street in Broken Arrow. But nothing could have prepared her for what she walked in on Friday morning.

"The door was open, and when I walked in here, all the dresses were gone, and everything was turned upside down," Rutherford said.

She said someone broke in the back door, climbed over a pile of storage items, and busted the lock on a second door inside.

"It just blind-sided me because it's never happen before," she said.

Rutherford said about 20 dresses were taken, ranging in price anywhere between $300 and $600.

"It's not as much the price, as the girls that were supposed to wear them," Rutherford said.

She shares the building with her sister, Zozette Barnes, who runs a nail salon across the hall.

"They must have knew what they wanted when they came in," Barnes said.

Barnes said the burglars took the tickets attached to orders, making the process of contacting the girls who were expecting their dresses even more difficult.

"She's doing all their alterations for free, if they can find a dress, because prom—some of them's tonight, and others it's tomorrow night," Barnes said.

Because she doesn't have insurance, Rutherford is paying for the girls' dresses out of her own pocket.

"I want to make sure they have their money back so they can go get another dress," Rutherford said.

She said she doesn't know when she'll resume business, but her heart goes out to the girls who won't have that perfect dress, because of the senseless act of a stranger.

"I've been trying to figure it out all morning, because I don't know what they would want with someone else's dress," Rutherford said. "They are not just hurting the business, they are hurting all those girls out there."

She said she doesn't know what added security measures she'll take in the future, but did tell us police were able to recover a pair of gloves and pulled some finger prints off of a box that was overturned during the break in.