Holiday Heists: ’Tis the season to decorate and be vigilant

HARLINGEN — It’s a well known fact thieves will steal anything.

With the holiday season pretty much here, thieves have become sneakier and dare I say weirder in their choices of stolen items.

Picture this, life-size Frosty the Snowman sitting on your front lawn, happy and unaware, waiting for Santa, then, all of a sudden, he’s snatched away like a piece of chocolate from a candy dish.

Gone in the night! Never to return, but he’ll probably show up at some flee market, a little beaten up and up for sale.

They’re all in danger of being taken. Every last one of your holiday lawn ornaments. Santa, Rudolph and the like are all susceptible to be taken and never seen again.

This year, the Harlingen Police Department wants you to protect yourself against these thieves who so callously steal lawn ornaments.

Police said thieves often target the flashy and extravagant lawn ornaments, especially during the Christmas holiday.

So far, no homes have been struck, but officer Larry Moore said it’s possible thieves will.

“It’s always a possibility,” he said. “We just want the public to be aware and try to protect their property.”

When interviewed last year around the same time, Moore said four homes had been struck. The thieves making off the inflatable’s valued at a couple hundred dollars.

Why steal inflatables, it seems so juvenile? Because inflatables are expensive and thieves steal them, then sell them at flea markets.

The scenario of the theft usually plays out the same, Moore said.

While inflatable frosty casually sits on the lawn, smiling from ear to ear, lit up and full of air, thieves drive up usually in the middle of the night and simply take him.

Just like that, a certified inflata-napping.

Most times these thefts are hard to recover and most victims never receive their ornaments back and are out hundreds of dollars.

Of the four reported thefts last year, Moore said only one had a solid lead. The victim was able to turn over surveillance video of the thief.

If you do have lawn ornaments, Moore said to place them further away from the road and close to the house.

That way, it’s harder to steal and thieves have a better chance of getting caught.

“Ornament owners should also put their names on the ornaments, making it easier to identify if they are recovered,” Moore said.