Bridget Friesen was fast asleep when her garage was broken into late Sunday night. She didn't hear a thing.

The thieves loaded stuff into bins in the driveway right below the window where Friesen sleeps.

Friesen and her boyfriend Duncan Boucher make a living by selling antiques at flea markets. The garage was full of valuable items.

They estimate thousands of dollars of merchandise was taken.

“They took anything related to maple leaf hockey, pucks, cards, books,” Friesen said, “[they also took] signed autograph pictures. They got about four of those.”

They called the police to report the incident.  But Friesen and Boucher didn't want to wait around.

So they decided to go looking for their possessions themselves. They didn't have to look far. Their first clue was just across the street.

Boucher said he found one of their bins hiding in the bushes. He could see it from the road. As he walked further into the forest he saw his things scattered along the path.

He found another set of their bins further into the woods. Then at the bottom of a steep hill Boucher saw a small tent city with items scattered throughout the area.

There was no one in the area when CTV went earlier today. But Boucher said there were still things leftover from his garage.

But anything of real value is gone.

“I imagine they already pawned everything,” Boucher said.

While CTV was there today, more people arrived looking for things that had been stolen.

“My bike was stolen,” said Rylie St Pierre. “My girlfriend's aunt messaged me over Facebook saying that there was a bunch of stuff so I thought I'd come take a look.”

St Pierre’s bike wasn’t there.

It's impossible to know for sure if the people who were here were the ones to break into Friesen and Boucher’s garage.

Police say there have been a number of break-ins in the area. But when it comes to laying charges for items that are found in the woods, there's not much they can do.

“We have no way of attaching them to that property just because they're nearby it, it doesn't mean they are in possession of it,” Const. Melanie Turner said. “You actually have to be in possession of stolen property to be charged with that crime.”

Barrie police say they are going to be in the neighbourhood tonight patrolling the area. Police say they are encouraging residents to report any suspicious activity.