AKRON, Ohio (WSVN) — Police in Ohio are searching for a group of thieves posed as volunteers to steal thousands of toys from Toys for Tots.
According to Fox 8, the group of men posed as volunteers, but then stole an estimated $5,000 in toys.
[protected-iframe id=”7672bce0be2f49e2f46c90055997436d-110336915-104619624″ info=”//cdn2.trb.tv/iframe.html?ec=kyc2N1ZzE6FND58oKudC3nW_K-68yLyi&pbid=b248f00b9d6e4d7ba21cbc796a85f61c&pcode=hvZXE6LAucDf6RdQ6h18j_W_oNxg” width=”640″ height=”480″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=””]
“This is our first year we opened it up to volunteers; usually we have a small staff that does this. Around 10:40 at night, I noticed some things were gone that shouldn’t have been gone,” said Traci Higgenbottom-Williams, the director for the Akron Toys for Tots program.
Surveillance video shows the men stealing bags full of toys.
“It tears me up. Because this process just doesn’t start in December. I start in January to make sure the kids get the best,” Williams said. “I don’t give them anything I wouldn’t give my kids when they were small. So when you take from them, it hurts me. Makes me angry.”
“You stole from kids who did nothing to you. They are innocent,” Williams added. “They are our future and we are trying to help them, encourage them and be a blessing to them and you are robbing that from them.”
The organization is now trying to recover from the theft. To donate, click here.
For more information on how to donate to South Florida’s local Toys for Tots program, click here.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.