ROSEVILLE, Mich. – The holidays are a time for giving, but not for one man who was seen stealing a Salvation Army red kettle from the front of a Roseville Walmart.
Now police are trying to hunt down that man who targeted and watched a bell ringer.
Police have released footage of the incident that was caught on Walmart cameras.
When the bell ringer took a break, the man walked up to the kettle, covered it with his coat, managed to snip the security cable, left the stand and took off with the kettle on a bicycle with an estimated $200-$500.
Major Candace Voeller of the Salvation Army calls the loss disheartening.
“Five-hundred dollars will really help feed a family of four for five weeks or help several nights with shelter and lodging so it is a significant hit you know when we lose that amount of money,” said Voeller.
Roseville Deputy Police Chief Don Glandon thinks sad desperation played a part in this theft.
“It’s sort of ironic when you’re dealing with a group that helps a lot of people out there and quite honestly if he’d have reached out to the Salvation Army they may have been able to help him in some fashion,” Glandon said.
The kettle wasn’t replaced outside the Walmart Friday immediately making the loss that much more painful.