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SALT LAKE CITY — A family in Rose Park had their Christmas lights and decorations stolen from their front yard Sunday night into Monday morning.
Myken Smith said the thieves somehow got to the roofline and took down two strands of lights as well as lights from her fence and bushes. The decorations and garland on her porch railing were also stolen, as well as a wreath and even a doormat.
"I woke up Monday morning and everything was gone," Smith said. "Like literally ripped from the top. They left some of the clips. They took the doormat?"
Smith said she sleeps with a fan on and didn't hear anything but believes it occurred sometime after 11 p.m. Sunday.
"I opened the (front) door and the wreath is gone. I'm like 'where's the wreath?" Then I opened the door further and it's all gone," she said.
Smith said she has no idea who or how the Christmas lights were stolen. She also checked with neighbors but no one appears to have seen or heard anything either.
"I'm a single mom and trying to do the best for my daughter and make it seasonal for her," Smith said. "It's just sickening. I cried. My daughter, 16 years old, was sitting there trying to console me."
Smith said she later found a strand of lights around the corner from her house. She also discovered that the light bulb on her front porch light had been unscrewed.
Smith said she spend a whole day preparing her holiday display. The lights were up for less than a week before they were stolen.
"The wreath on the front door, which I actually made myself," Smith said, "I mean it's not professional but I did it and I loved it."
Even so, Smith isn't letting the incident steal her Christmas spirit. She said she's had several neighbors reach out to express their support.
"The outpouring of love was nice," Smith said. "I've been here seven (or) eight years. I love the area, but we've just got a few bad seeds here and there."
Smith said she is planning on filing an online police report. Unfortunately, the neighbors didn't get surveillance footage and neither did she, but she just purchased a Ring camera.
As for replacing what was lost, Smith isn't sure if she'll get new lights up, but she is working on a few extra decorations for inside her home.
