Jeff had a photo, but he still didn’t know who the woman was or where she lived. So, he decided to get a little help from the internet. With a couple of keystrokes on his keyboard and a few clicks from his mouse, he posted the photo. Would someone recognize her? He doubted it, but he kept his fingers crossed. Then, this happened.
Jeff had spent weeks looking for the right gift for his fiancée, Kylee, who wasn’t really expecting anything. After all, they were trying to save money for the wedding. But he wanted to prove to her that she meant everything to him. He was convinced that this surprise would be a hit. So, when his phone buzzed, he got happy. He couldn’t wait to see her reaction. He raced home so he could find the package and hide it. But that’s when he noticed it wasn’t there.
Kylee was the one. Jeff was certain of that. But he was still afraid she would turn him down when he proposed. Fortunately, her answer made him the happiest guy in the world. They wanted to get hitched immediately. Jeff didn’t like the idea of being engaged for several years. He was sure he wanted a life with her, so with her help, they started saving every penny they made. But every so often, he would find a reason to spend money on her.
Kylee wasn’t a materialistic person, which is what Jeff loved about her. But he used her birthday as an excuse to spend money on her, much to her disappointment. She understood that fancy cars, the latest iPhone, or jewelry weren’t the source of their happiness. They had each other and that’s all they needed. However, on this occasion, Jeff decided to break the rules.
Neither of them had been born rich, and they weren’t well off either, but they were hard workers. Jeff and Kylee worked to make their dreams a reality. But despite this, it didn’t stop Jeff from buying something special. And he figured one little purchase wouldn’t hurt. But he had no idea just how wrong he had been all along.
Jeff’s porch was empty, so he searched his entire front lawn for the package. He assumed that the delivery guy placed the package in some odd location. But he looked everywhere and he found nothing, so he started to get scared. He checked with his neighbors to see if the delivery guy accidentally gave the package to one of them by mistake. Where was his gift? There was only one place left to look.
Jeff checked the CCTV footage. He pressed the rewind button on the small screen and saw the delivery man drop his package on the front door. Then, he saw a woman walking back and forth on his front lawn. A man was looking up and down the street. He had his hand in his pockets and was standing behind the woman. Then, the woman took his package. Jeff was angry. How dare she steal his package?
Jeff grabbed his jacket and prepared to go to the cops, but Kylee tried to calm him down. Maybe the thieves were desperate. Maybe the woman stole in order to feed her kids. People around the neighborhood started gossiping. Meanwhile, Jeff considered reporting the thieves. But would the cops help? Then Jeff came up with a better solution.
As Jeff shared the footage, Kylee squeezed his shoulder and urged, “Don’t worry about it.” But he couldn’t let it go. He put his money, his time, and his heart into buying this gift. This present was supposed to make his fiancée happy, but it didn’t. Her birthday was tarnished by Jeff’s rantings over the entire incident. Then, the computer screen lit up with responses.
Neighbors immediately shared Jeff and Kylee’s “Stolen KC” post with everyone they knew. The couple was shocked by the response from the community. “Hey, I went to high school with this person,” one person wrote. “We started getting names and then, once we got names, we got Facebooks… we got locations,” said Jeff. But Kylee’s gift was still missing.
“Blasting this on social media and the response we got, it’s amazing how many people chimed in and actually said, ‘hey, we know her… this is her name,’” explained Jeff about his experience. By the time the cops arrived, Jeff already knew the identity of the woman. Now they had to apprehend her.
The cops were able to find the woman and arrest her in only a matter of hours. Kylee was stunned by the number of comments and the amount of shares Jeff’s story received. “Within 20 minutes, I knew her name, I knew she was over here, and it just honestly restored faith in humanity because there are still decent people and not everybody’s a jerk.” Meanwhile, Kylee was still without a present, but she had the support of the community. How would she ever be able to repay them?
“If you want something, get a job, pay for it yourself… don’t steal from everybody else because they work hard for their money,” said Kylee. She didn’t need anything from Jeff, so she wasn’t expecting a present. But the audacity of this woman who stole her present really ticked her off.
Jeff and Kylee weren’t the only ones to fall victim to this thief, and although she was caught, she wasn’t the first or the last person to prey on this neighborhood. “Idiots need to realize that someone is almost always watching these days. If your moral compass isn’t enough to keep you from stealing, the fear of being videoed should be. But then again, stupid people still don’t care,” someone commented on Jeff’s post. But Kylee and Jeff learned a valuable lesson from all of this.
Kylee never recovered the present Jeff bought for her. But the couple made plenty of friends who helped them to find those responsible for the theft. And Jeff wasn’t able to spoil her on her birthday, but she did have a wonderful fiancé who fought to get justice. They also learned that the only gift they needed was each other… well, that, and a decent CCTV camera!