‘Seems like a real-life Grinch’: Latrobe police searching for Christmas tree thief
By Ed DiOrio
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UNITY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WTAE) — Latrobe police are asking for the public’s help in finding the person who turned Mister Rogers’ neighborhood into Whoville after a Christmas tree was stolen.
“We have a real-life Grinch in Mister Rogers’ actual neighborhood,” Jack Townsend, who owns the tree, said. “There are a lot of hardships in the world right now. Somebody might’ve really needed a tree. But there are better ways to go about it.”
The Townsend porch Christmas tree was stolen around 2:30 a.m. Saturday.
Someone — who isn’t covered with green fur — came onto the porch and took the Townsend family’s tree.
Jack knew something wasn’t right when he came back from running errands later that day.
“I was walking up the front steps, and it looked like things were missing,” he said. “It was actually the polar bear being pulled clear across the porch that made me realize that the tree was gone. We’re more concerned about the security of our neighborhood and the safety of our neighbors more than anything else.”
No other homes along Spring Street had items taken from their property.
The Townsends had put that tree on their porch ever since their daughter chose it.
“It is a tree my daughter picked out when she was 2 years old,” Jack said. “It was the first tree she identified on her own and insisted we bring home. She got excited about it every year. She was pretty heartbroken that it was gone.”
She wasn’t the only one.
“This is pretty unusual for this area,” Victoria Townsend said. “We have such wonderful neighbors. It’s a wonderful community. I think that’s why everyone was so shocked.”
After Victoria and Latrobe police put the video on social media, a lot of people reached out offering to replace the tree.
“We just directed them to make those donations to the local food bank,” Victoria said. “There are people who need [those donations] more than we do.”
She continued, saying, “When I was growing up, my family had a lot of food insecurity. We relied on SNAP benefits. I help people move out of nursing homes and into the community. Food is a very challenging thing for people with disabilities. We just redirected them to donate to the food bank or donate disability-friendly food options to your local blessings box because there’s a lot available. I just want to make sure everybody in our community is fed and has the dignity of a meal.”
The family did have a spare tree to put in place of the stolen one.
Whether or not this story ends the same as the classic Dr. Seuss story, the Townsends hope their version makes a difference.
“This kind of seems like a real-life Grinch story,” Victoria said. “Somebody steals a tree, and I think we may be able to make his heart grow three sizes if we come together as a community and take care of our own.”
While it can’t be directly linked to this request by the Townsend family, the Westmoreland Food Bank did confirm to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that this week already has more donations for the second week of December than it did last year.
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