HOULTON, Maine — After interviewing “several witnesses,” Houlton Police Department (HPD) Sgt. Stewart Kennedy stated that there is at least one suspect in the alleged theft of toys and gifts from the Salvation Army office on Court St. before Christmas. “I have a couple of people of interest at this time. There is new information from a witness who observed some suspicious activity.” Kennedy said the witness came forward on Christmas Eve. But, he declined to give any additional information.
According to Kennedy, he responded to a call that went into HPD on Dec. 22 at 7:15 p.m. with a report that several Christmas toys and gifts were missing. The officer stated that he spoke with Major Irma Pearl in addition to at least seven other persons at the scene. Also according to Kennedy, Pearl told him that she had been very busy with people entering and leaving the premises for several days and she couldn’t be certain exactly when the gifts went missing. “It appeared that someone who had access to the Salvation Army was responsible since there was no sign of forced entry into the building,” Kennedy stated.
Disappointing discovery
Pearl told the Pioneer Times she noticed that some high-ticket items for specific families were missing including a Giggle Doll with a retail value around $73 and an interactive walking toy dog she said cost about $50. Also missing, she said, were three VTech games, a $40 pajama set, jewelry, an Easy-bake Oven, clothes and other items.
But, it was one item in particular — a pink cosmetic bag that had been donated for a specific young girl — that Pearl said had been replaced with a much less expensive item that sparked her curiosity about its whereabouts. A search ensued for other items set aside to fulfill requests made by specific families.
“I checked in the bags that were already done and I could not find any of the items I remembered seeing, like a walking Giggle Doll. It was gone. And, I had two kids that had asked for that.” Pearl said someone had gone out to purchase a second doll. “They didn’t take the second one because that one was still in my arms.”
Pearl said she was “devastated and overwhelmed.” She explained that the gifts were not locked up because she had people there helping her and they were trying to get the bags ready for clients to pick up before Christmas. “I should have been more aware and I felt I had let the kids down.”
Families were supposed to pick up their gifts on Thursday. Instead they were met with a sign on the door that they would have to wait. Meanwhile, Pearl could not have anticipated the flood of support that poured in from the community right after the news hit.
Residents to the rescue
Facebook subscribers went into action trying to replace items taken from the Court St. location. “I didn’t put anything out. People found out about it and the community got together and they just started bringing in things. I didn’t have to call anyone. They all responded on their own. People were coming in droves. They said it was on Facebook.”
Although some missing items were sold out and not immediately available locally, Pearl said she was able to purchase replacements of similar items for children on her list. And, she added, when she was leaving Walmart, she noticed a customer going to the checkout with an Easy-bake Oven as well as the same item that had initially triggered her interest about the location of gifts for that certain teenager on her list. “They took everything from her bag.”
When Pearl arrived back at her office, as it turned out, the customer had purchased “the beautiful pink cosmetic bag” and other items for the Salvation Army Christmas gift distribution. “I ended up with more gifts than I had before. Families called and said they were able to have a great Christmas because of the gifts they received.” Originally, donations had dipped from previous years. But, the town rallied to salvage a difficult situation at the eleventh hour.
Pearl added that a young woman, a former resident, called from Washington, D.C. and said the Salvation Army had helped her when she was young and had provided toys for her at Christmas. After reading about the situation on Facebook, Pearl said the woman was making arrangements for a friend to bring a donation to the office.
“I was so overwhelmed that I cried. I couldn’t believe the response. I was upset that someone had tried to do something bad. But, the community made something good out of it. The community was willing to do whatever it took and make sure the kids got what they wanted.”
