MELBOURNE, Fla. — The surveillance images captured an eerie scene: a man dressed in black from head to toe, hoisting a long pole with a large blade on the end.

  • Man dressed in black broke into Melbourne businesses, police say
  • Business owner says the burglar looks like the Grim Reaper
  • Man allegedly cut a small hole through the roof of a business

"He looks like the Grim Reaper," said Karen Reynolds, whose Melbourne store was broken into overnight.

Though the resemblance is eerie, the tool used is actually a long tree cutting saw.

"He has to be extremely tiny," Reynolds said.

She is in awe of how the burglar managed to cut a hole through her office building's roof, squeeze through, and climb down a 20-foot-long rope.

Her cell phone repair shop was one of four Wickham Road businesses the person burglarized overnight.

Behind the shops but in the same building are several rented storage units. After climbing down from the high ceiling, the shadowy figure grabbed a long pole-saw out of one of the lockers.

"He had a bolt cutter that allowed him to get into the lockers. That led to tools of opportunity, and that led to burglarizing other units," Melbourne Police Cmdr. Marc Claycomb said.

The person used the saw to cut more holes to squeeze through at other storage units, plus the four businesses like Reynolds's.

Police are still sorting through what the grim burglar took. They add the person could be involved in several similar break-ins in the southern part of Brevard CountyIf you have any information, call Melbourne Police or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.