Wedding dress stolen from car of bride-to-be in Durham
DURHAM -- A bridesmaid reached out to her community to help her friend after her wedding dress was stolen right out of the backseat of her car.
Niki Hasch was at work in Durham on Wednesday morning when one of her employees walked in and said there is a black car in the parking lot with a door wide open. Hasch has a black car and walked out to see if it was hers. It was.
"I immediately knew that the dress I had brought with me today at work was missing," said Hasch.
She had her dress in her car because she had planned to take it to the tailor right after work. Now, her dream dress that she chose out of so many was gone.
Having lost her dress with only two months until she marries the man of her dreams, she called one of her bridesmaids in tears.
"She immediately called me and said 'My wedding dress is gone' and I was like 'what,'" said Sara Shinn.
Shocked and upset, Shinn wasted no time in reaching out to the community. She lives in the Wake Forest and Rolesville area and belongs to the Wake Forest Community Facebook page.
She posted looking for just advice.
"So I got on here and just posted wanting to know if there was any local bridal shops that have the nice off-the-rack section," said Shinn.
The response was more than she expected.
"Tons and tons of comments," said Shinn.
"Seventy replies within an hour and 13 complete strangers offered me their wedding gowns," said Hasch.
One stranger willing to donate is Liz Pogue. She owns Gorgeous Gowns in Cary, one of the first shops Hasch has been to since her dress was stolen. In conversation, Hasch told Pogue what had happened to her original dress.
Right away, Pogue said she felt for Hasch, not just for the loss of the dress, but the experiences that go along with finding "the" dress.
"Might have been a special moment with her mom, her sister, a friend and so that experience you're not getting when you're rushing around choosing a second dress," said Pogue.
Pogue said Hasch tried on a dress that she seemed to like, but left before they could chat again.
"All last night my heart was hurting for her that's all I could think about," said Pogue.
So when she saw our story at Eyewitness News at 5:30, she reached out to us to tell Hasch that she can have any dress in the shop free of charge.
She's not the only one reaching out.
"Body Bliss Salon and Spa contacted me to donate $100 toward a new dress and a free massage to help her calm down," said Shinn, "Burtons Bakery gave her a great deal on cupcakes and a cake for the wedding, also a local lady named Shelli said she would donate all her wedding jewelry."
"You hate to have something like this happen but when you do you see what kind of community you live in," said Hasch.
While she is overwhelmed with the outpouring of support, Hasch is hoping maybe her original dress will find its way home before her May 30 wedding.
If you know anything about the theft or see the dress pop up in a consignment shop or online, call the Durham Police Department.
