Hundreds Of Toys For Tots Donations Stolen
BURLINGTON (CBS) -- $15,000 worth of toys were stolen Saturday from the Toys for Tots program.
UPDATE: Donation deadline extended until 6 p.m. Tuesday
State police say the toys were being stored in a POD container at a warehouse facility in Burlington from where they would be distributed to charities.
The program, coordinated by the United State Marine Corps with help from Massachusetts State Police, collects and distributes toys for needy families.
Police say about 1,500 toys were stolen from the locked POD between 2:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. Saturday. It appears the toys were sorted through and only toys valued between $15 and $30 and for children 8 and up were taken, police say.
WBZ-TV's Paul Burton reports
They add a break-in of a second POD was attempted, but unsuccessful.
"This is not just a crime against the PODs company or the Massachusetts State Police or the United States Marine Corps or even the administrators of this wonderful program who have worked so hard to collect these toys," said Colonel Marian J. McGovern, superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police. "More importantly, this is a despicable crime against the generous people who donated these toys and against the hundreds of children in need who would have received these gifts and who now will not. The State Police and the Burlington Police will do everything we can to find who did this and try to recover these toys."
WBZ News Radio 1030's Karen Twomey reports
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The Toys for Tots collection ended last week, and organizers say new donations may not make it to families by Christmas. But they are still accepting replacement donations at any State Police Barracks. Checks can be made out to "Toys for Tots."
Find: State Police Barracks Near You
State police are also asking anyone who has information about the theft or if they are suspicious of a sudden large quantity of toys to call either state police at 508-820-2121 or Burlington police at 781-270-1914.
