Stolen Quilt Returned To Baltimore Co. Family
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Baltimore County police have returned a stolen quilt to a family after a rash of package thefts near Middle River.
Social media is being credited with helping track the family down.
Police found the quilt in a hotel room, along with many other stolen items, after they arrested two suspects wanted in connection with dozens of package thefts.
Reuniting a little girl and her stolen quilt took a patchwork of social media shares and determined police.
"I just couldn't even believe it. I mean, how, how does that happen?," asked Amy Santopietro, who had her package stolen.
Amy Santopietro says that just days after Christmas, her family's Middle River home became the prey of package thieves.
A handmade quilt was among the priceless items swiped from the front porch.
"It makes me really upset because she put her hard work into this, and someone just took it and didn't even think about it's not even theirs," Amy's daughter, Emily, said.
And they weren't alone. Police say Kimberly Brooks and Kenneth Sutphin are responsible for at least 40 other package thefts in eastern Baltimore County.
When Brooks and Sutphin were arrested for the crimes, police discovered the quilt, and an embroidered message inspired them to find its rightful owner.
Just three hours after posting a photo on Facebook, the quilt caught the eye of the maker's friend in North Carolina, and was tracked down to the Santopietro family.
"I didn't cry when I realized it was stolen. But when Kate called me yesterday, I was just crying on the phone. Because now I knew that Emily would have something that I made especially for her," said Emily's grandmother, Patricia White, who made the quilt.
A hardly forgettable story, now sewn into the fabric of a family heirloom.
Amy says there were many other gifts in the stolen box, including a handmade gift for her newborn granddaughter. Unfortunately, those items have not been recovered.
Sutphin and Brooks face a long list of burglary and theft charges.
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