Investigation Report by Detective Chuck Billy. While out on a routine patrol shift, I heard a loud gasp, and immediately rushed in to help. When I arrived, I found Mom looking rather upset staring at an empty gift box under the Christmas tree.

I immediately began questioning Mom about her missing gift. According to her, there was a new sweater inside that box that was now missing. Someone had stolen Mom’s sweater! But who?

I immediately secured the area, and began my investigation, slowly fanning out from the crime scene to look for clues. As I rounded the corner to the living room, I spotted the suspect in plain view with the stolen sweater!

I immediately recognized the culprit, who has a well known history of stealing items around the house, including socks and more recently a sheep from the same room the sweater was last seen! Because of his past history, I also knew that he has a track record of running when confronted. So I proceeded with caution, and was able to distract him while retrieving the stolen item without incident.

After careful inspection by Mom, she determined that no damage was done and did not want to press charges. In fact, she claimed it was all just a case of misunderstanding. The gift box was reused from a previous year, and had the culprit’s name plainly written on it. He must have thought the gift was for him!

Despite my protests to reconsider, she further rationalized that she couldn’t blame the perpetrator for wanting to cuddle with it, because the sweater is very soft and warm. Therefore, his name, which begins and ends in “A,” will not be released to the public. However, beware! This criminal mastermind is back out there and will no doubt steal again!