RAYTOWN, Mo. -- Police in Raytown are still searching for the man they say broke into a fire station while firefighters were out raising money for charity.
Labor Day marked the 63rd year that the men and women of the Raytown Fire Protection District collected money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
While firefighters were out of the station boot-blocking, a man walked right inside.
"I had no knowledge that he was in the station," said Raytown Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Andrew Finkelstein.
Finkelstein said he was in the administrative offices at the time of the burglary. After looking at surveillance video, he said it appears the man walked through an unlocked door.
"We were in the process of replacing that system so we went to a regular key to get in and out, and inadvertently someone left the kitchen door unlocked," said Finkelstein.
It happened around noon at the fire station located at 6020 Raytown Trafficway, just minutes after firefighters left for the fundraiser. Around 2:30 p.m., the on-duty captain realized his personal belongings were missing.
"His wallet, a brand new pair of shoes; the guy actually walked out wearing the shoes. We could see that on the surveillance footage," said Finkelstein.
Finkelstein said even though the station was unfortunately an easy target, they feel betrayed.
"We put ourselves out there, risk our lives and we're there to help the public with pretty much anything they may need us for," said Finkelstein.
The Raytown Fire Protection District's Facebook page posted pictures and a message calling out the suspect.
"We don't want anyone to think that it's okay to steal or take advantage of our good nature. We would like to see him be brought to justice," said Finkelstein.
Raytown Fire said overall, they’re grateful the man didn’t find the charitable donations they had been collecting for MDA all weekend long.