After finishing a roofing project, Advanced Roofing in Moose Jaw leaves a sign on the lawn to advertise a job well-done. But lately, the signs have been going missing.

“We started asking the homeowners, ‘Did you take the sign out?’” Advanced Roofing president Justin Fall said. “And they said, ‘No, it just kind of disappeared.’”

Once he realized the homeowners weren’t to blame, Fall decided to take the investigation into his own hands. He set up a security camera, and waited.

“The camera that caught the guy was at my house,” he explained. “We did my neighbour’s (roof) across the street and I said I’m going to aim my camera at this sign and see if I can catch who’s doing this.”

After nearly a month, Fall’s camera finally caught what he was looking for.

“It was in broad daylight, 10 o’clock in the morning, in a company truck,” he said. “This couldn’t have worked out any better.”

The video showed an employee of a competing roofing company stealing the sign from the lawn. Fall used the security footage to put a video on social media. In less than 24 hours, the video has been shared 900 times and earned more than 50,000 views on Advanced Roofing’s Facebook page.

“Our inbox is flooded with support. It’s incredible,” Fall said.

Each sign costs $15 and Fall says about 100 signs have gone missing in the last year. The company is out about $1,500 after the thefts.

“I definitely want it to stop,” Fall said. “I don’t think I’ll get the other signs back. I’m sure they’re long gone.”

The employee caught on the security video has come forward. Avery LePage says he turned the sign in to Moose Jaw police. He said he acted alone, without his company’s direction, and that he’s sorry for his actions. He also says it’s the only sign he’s taken.

“It didn’t need to be done,” LePage said. “If I could redo it, I would never have even taken the sign. I would have just continued with my day.”

LePage has been suspended and says the video has led to threats, causing stress for him and his family.

“It’s scary for my own safety to be always looking over my shoulder and have to worry about that,” LePage said. “It’s just not good.”

Advanced Roofing says it’s still looking for the other missing signs, and Moose Jaw police are still working to track down the rest of the missing advertising.