Very tall suspect sought in thefts from Wicker Park massage therapists

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago police are looking for a very tall man, captured on a surveillance camera, who claims he wants a massage before stealing from massage therapists in Wicker Park.

Police say he has stolen from three businesses so far, including Urban Wellness in the 1500-block of North Damen Avenue, where two employees say the tall, lumbering thief broke their peace.

"I heard a single buzz on the buzzer," said Terri Visovatti, owner of Urban Wellness Chicago.

"I opened the door and in comes this man that I don't recognize," said Amy Gonzalez, massage therapist at Urban Wellness Chicago.

Gonzalez said that was the start of a bizarre exchange.

"I put my client in the room and as I come back out he's kind of pacing around and then he asks, 'Well, wen is she going to be done?'" Gonzalez said.

As she was tucked away in the room with her client, she had a thought.

"I didn't hear him exit. And that's when I kind of knew, I was like, 'That was weird. I'm going to come out and my stuff is going to be gone,'" she said.

And sure enough, she was right.

"I hadn't turn my ringer on but I get a message from Amy's client, who I happen to know, saying Amy' wallet and phone were stolen," Visovatti said.

"I ran over to AT&T to try and get a new phone, with which I called my other credit card company. And they said, 'We're getting you a new card and by the way, they tried charging $804. It didn't go through,'" Gonzalez said.

Visovatti's wallet was also gone. It turned out the thief had a busy Wednesday.

"A couple hours earlier he robbed Health Source down the street, which is a chiropractic clinic, and had enough time to go over to Cricket and spend about $800 there, Cricket Wireless," Visovatti said.

Each stop was at small businesses like Urban Wellness, several of them in the Wicker Park neighborhood. The victims described the thief as a slender African American man with one very distinct feature: He's 6 ft. 8 in. tall.

"Unless he's a ninja or a transformer, I don't know how he was missed," Visovatti said.

Police said each credit card stolen by the man had several hundred dollars charged to it. If you have any information about the suspect, contact Chicago Police.