Police in Georgia Are on the Lookout for a Hotel 'Breakfast Bandit'

The sanctity of the complimentary breakfast buffet, a privilege only afforded to hotel guests, is being threatened by a thief on the loose in Dalton, Georgia. The so-called "breakfast bandit" has been spotted helping himself to the spreads at multiple local hotels, Thrillist reports—and police fear he's still hungry.

According to a statement from the Dalton Police Department, their primary suspect is "a Caucasian male with a thick dark beard and wearing a ball cap." After waltzing into a Holiday Inn Express without checking in the morning of August 25, the man began his freeloading spree with a stop at the breakfast bar. It's unclear whether he indulged in waffles, breakfast sausages, instant scrambled eggs, or some combination of the above, but a police spokesperson told Thrillist that whatever he ate, "he definitely ate a lot of it."

The culprit was in no rush to flee the scene of the crime following his meal. Instead, he explored the rest of the hotel illegally, and when a staff member confronted him about meandering through the halls, he reportedly said, "I am just checking to see how easy it is to get into hotels and get free stuff."

He struck again the next day at the Quality Inn next door. This time, he snuck into a hotel room while it was being cleaned and stuck around for over an hour. He returned the following day looking to pick up an item he had left in the room, but when the hotel staff told him they were contacting the police, he quickly vacated the site. In addition to leaving the hotels with a full stomach, he also made off with towels and silverware from the buffets. Police suspect that he was also involved in other recent budget hotel thefts in the area.

The police have posted a surveillance image of the suspect captured at one of the hotels and are asking citizens to get in touch with any information they have. In the meantime, anyone passing through the Dalton area should keep an extra close eye on their hotel pancakes.