With Christmas just a week away some Elizabethton residents may feel they have stumbled into the pages of Dr. Seuss’ popular tale as someone has made off with their Christmas decorations.
On Sunday morning, a resident on Division Street called 911 to report the theft of their Christmas decorations. When Elizabethton Police Department Officer Dustin Johnson arrived on scene, the residents of the home reported that sometime during the night or early morning hours someone had stolen their inflatable “Santa’s Snack Wagon” from the front lawn of their home. The man told officers the inflatable was connected to an extension cord that ran from the decoration to an outlet inside the front door of their home and the extension cord had been pulled out of the doorway. The man estimated the value of the inflatable at around $50.
The incident on Sunday was the most recent reported to local police.
On Dec. 9, two other city residents reported they had also had Christmas decorations stolen from their homes.
Shortly after 9 p.m. on Dec. 9, officers responded to a report of a theft at a home on West I Street. In his report on the incident, EPD Cpl. James Sexton said the resident reported two “Star Shower Christmas Light displays” had been stolen from his front yard.
The man told officers he had left his home shortly after 8 p.m. and when he returned home an hour later he discovered the lights had been stolen while he was away. The man estimated the total value of the lights was around $120.
As short time later that night, Sexton responded to a report of another theft of decorations just under a half-mile away from the incident on West I Street.
This time, Sexton went to a home on Hales Court where a woman reported someone had stolen a Star Shower Christmas Light display from her front yard. The woman told officers she had heard a car outside her home within the previous hour and then realized the lights were not reflecting off her home like they should have been. She estimated the value of the light as around $60.
Anyone who sees any suspicious activity or witnesses a possible theft is asked to report it to law enforcement by calling 911. Residents in the City of Elizabethton can also call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at (423) 542-7574.