Maple Valley neighbors come together after Halloween Grinch steals pumpkins, decorations

MAPLE VALLEY, Wash. -- Early Thursday morning people stole Halloween decorations and pumpkins off of front porches at a neighborhood in Maple Valley.

“The decoration was around here,” showed 9-year-old Colton Wood where his pumpkins used to sit on his front porch.

Stunned that anyone would steal Halloween decoration and pumpkins off the front porch, Wood says he is disappointed.

“I’m mad and sad I don’t know why a person would do that to a pumpkin. We just bought that cost money. When I came here I saw my pumpkin was stolen I was worried about what was going to happen next,” said Wood.

His mom, Cami Johnson says they have video surveillance and it looks like teenagers came to the porch around 1:30 in the morning, stole pumpkins then ran away.

“It makes me feel a little violate knowing that strangers coming to my door in the middle of the night while we’re all sleeping,” said Cami Johnson.

Johnson says it wasn’t just pumpkins that were stolen, her neighbors shared they also had their pumpkins smashed and larger decorations stolen from their yards.

So, when neighbors found out, a group of teens and adults reached out to local businesses who donated more than 40 pumpkins for families, like the Johnson’s, to pick up free replacements.

“It’s really upsetting to know people my age went around and did that,” said Alyssa Burkhead, one of the teens with Young Life who volunteered to help families in her neighborhood.

Burkhead says she loved Halloween as a kid and wanted to make sure the children in their neighborhood get to have those memories too.

Back at the Johnson’s with new pumpkins in tow, decorations are back on display, just in time for the holiday.

“It’s pretty cool and I’m glad that I got another pumpkin,” said Wood.