'Hurtful, Invasive': North Minneapolis Family Has Packages Stolen That Memorialized Late Father

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A north Minneapolis family says they were the target of a thief while they mourned the loss of a loved one.

A week ago, their front-door camera captured video of the man they believe stole some gifts that memorialized their father who had recently passed away.

"A lot of laughs. A lot of references and stuff are all to our dad," said Vanessa DeLaire.

Charismatic with a lot of wit. That's how Vanessa DeLaire and her brother Jason Peterson DeLaire will remember their father John. He recently passed away after a three-year battle with cancer.

"He was a big advocate for the AA community and touched a lot of people's lives," said Jason.

John DeLaire was also a talented musician and drummer. To honor him, Vanessa decided to order the pallbearers a special gift.

"Drum socks would be cool and something that would be a keep-sake to honor the pallbearers," said Vanessa.

A few days before the funeral, Amazon delivered the socks to their front porch. Vanessa was home but didn't grab them right away because she was in the process of filling out her father's death certificate.

During that short amount of time, they had another visitor.

"He says hello and knocks on the door," said Vanessa.

Vanessa and Jason say the stranger stood on their front porch for just a few moments before he took the packages and left. Vanessa came out a few minutes later and they were gone. They put their doorbell video up on Facebook.

"Multiple other people were like, 'we got the same guy stealing our packages,'" said Jason.

"Hurtful, invasive, all of those icky things," said Vanessa.

While the socks may not mean much to a thief, they meant everything to a grieving family.

"I don't want him to go to jail and the police here are way too busy with other, more significant issues. But I would hope that he would have a change of heart," said Jason. "It was kicking us while we were down or pouring salt on a wound. It really hurt so maybe it will touch his heart and wake him up," said Jason.

Jason filled out a police report shortly after the packages were stolen.

He and Vanessa say the fact that more than 300 people turned out for their dad's funeral, has also helped them cope during a difficult time.