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PAHOA, Hawaii (AP) — A donation jar used to raise money for an 8-year-old girl who needs a heart transplant was stolen from a Big Island store.
Irie Hawaii manager Jose Miranda said customers had already contributed at least $200 for Madisyn Tamaki, a third-grade student at Pahoa Elementary School.
Surveillance footage at the store shows a man grabbing the jar from a counter and stuffing it into his pants on Monday, Hawaii News Now (http://ow.ly/JE7Oi ) reported.
"I was watching the video and my heart just dropped to my toes, you know?" Miranda said. "Everybody has some kind of etiquette — even robbers, even burglars. And for him to not even think about this 8-year-old needing a heart transplant to me is mind-boggling. That's beyond cold-hearted to me."
Hawaii County police spokeswoman Chris Loos told The Associated Press in an email Wednesday that police are investigating the incident at the Pahoa Village Road store as a third-degree theft.
Madisyn has been transferred to the Seattle Children's Hospital, where she is awaiting a heart transplant, family members said. She has been diagnosed with acute fulminant myocarditis, an inflammatory disease that attacks the heart muscle, according to a fundraising website set up for her.
The medical bills and travel costs for the family are mounting, the site said.
"We're just all praying that a heart will become available for her," said an aunt, Melissa Dunn. "Maddie is a very intelligent and vibrant child and she's got much to achieve for her future."
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Information from: KGMB-TV, http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/
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