Family's gifts from father overseas stolen off front porch
OREGON CITY, Ore. – Christopher Hinton is a paramedic who is supporting our military in Kuwait.
He hasn’t seen his four young children in almost a year, but he found a way to send his love this Christmas with some unique gifts from Europe.
Those gifts made it all the way to his family’s front porch in Oregon City, where someone stole them just days before Christmas.
“This is one more time I have to explain why bad people do bad things,” said Christopher’s ex-wife Bethany Hinton.
She said the pastor at the church across the street from their house found the empty box on the porch.
No other neighbors reported missing packages.
“He said he found wrapping paper all over the bushes, all over the ground, the boxes were torn apart,” Hinton said. “I was mad. These are my kids and those things were meant for my kids.”
Their 12-year-old daughter Keziah said she was disappointed, but reminded her family what really matters this time of year.
“I was thinking about it, and then, well if somebody came up to the porch and stole the gifts, then they or somebody else might need it a lot more than I do,” she said.
“I probably would have been mad for a lot longer if the things that happened this year hadn’t happened, but I get to celebrate Christmas with my kids,” said Hinton. "I'm proud of my kids."
The gifts may not have made it all the way from Europe, but their dad’s love did.
“He was on a trip and decided to get this stuff for us because he was thinking about us,” said Keziah.
Assuming the ex has a job, packages should be sent to her place of employment, not left on a porch. I do feel bad for the family though.
This doesn't make sense to me; the scenario sounds more like an animal getting into the packages. A thief would just take the things and quickly leave, not take the time to open them on site.
 @gofigure and taking the gifts, too? I don't think so...
 @gofigure My friend just recently found a bunch of stuff stolen from her car in some bushes nearby. Apparently the thieves stopped to see what they got. It could have happened here as well.
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Someone stole a girl's here. She is away from her family this year. Fedex put it by her apartment door..."amazingly"" no one knows who got it."Talk about low!!!
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Thieves follow the delivery trucks around and steal them if left unattended for a few minutes...sad world full of bad people hurting others....
I wonder if there is any connection here with the missing puppy.
 @DizzyDog  thieves ?
Keziah sounds like a good kid. Â Nice to see a good parenting story for a change.
I'm sorry but my BS alarm is sounding.
This is low - a very low thing for someone to do and the fact that it was shipped from overseas should be clearly marked on the boxes, so assuming the thieves can read, they should have known the importance of those gifts and get them back to this family.
@K. Michelle Pendley  Really?! Thieves don't give a rat's azz about what they are stealing. As long as they can sell something for their next fix....
What a mean spirited thing to do. But Karma is a b itch and whoever did it will eventually figure out that it's not nice to hurt other people.As for package delivery, if at all possible have the packages delivered to your workplace if you're employed, or to a stay-at-home neighbor... signature required.It sounds like Keziah has her mind focused on what's important, and that is a pretty good gift right there. :)
I love how everyone considers these people "victims" because the packages were not properly secured. After all, I was beaten down as a "victim" when my truck was stolen from my driveway. Yes it was running, but it took a mere few seconds to be stolen when we ran into the house to grab the coffee cup. Yup, people said it was "our" fault because the truck was left running unattended for a few seconds. (We were lucky enough to recover our truck unharmed)  So this must be their fault as well since delivery was not secure.
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In all reality, I really do feel sorry for the kids, but at least the child has it right - about what this time of year is about.Â
 @wondering oops
 @wondering YOU left the truck in the driveway, THEY did not leave the packages on the porch.  See the difference here?
@RatchetRanger  NO. It was my property and I did not authorize anyone else to use it. You are a criminal, right? Because only a criminal would make the true victim the bad guy.Â
 @wondering If I am a criminal, then so are you, for in your original comment you said "So this must be their fault as well since delivery was not secure."  Or is this different for you, too?  You leave your unattended truck running and when it gets stolen you expect sympathy.  Finding none, you bash anyone that has sympathy for non-complicent crime victims.  It's time to get over yourself.
 @wondering First of all, it didn't take you a "Few" seconds to leave your truck, enter your house, pour a cup of coffee and go out to find your truck gone.  Thanks for helping the insurance companies raise rates with your stupidity.  You got beat sown because you try too hard to minimize what you did to gain sympathy.  I don't see how that has anything to do with these people not getting their gifts.  At leat they know what's important and have a good attitude about the situation.
@subarulz Don't worry - your rates are not affected by this because we took it upon ourselves...TO HELP OURSELVES... and located the stolen vehicle for police. And yes, it was just a few seconds because the coffee was already poured. See, WE did nothing wrong - the criminals did.  But by your reasoning, these people also deserved what they got because they were too stupid to take proper precautions to secure their delivery.
this is sad. however, there are so many theifs out there now i guess we have to expect the worse in people. had xmas gifts stolen one year off my porch. now i have people send anything to a different address. one where there is always someone there to sign for the package.
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Fed Ex & UPS have $100 insurance on every package; you have to pay more if you want higher insurance coverage...
 @August100 Really...............good luck getting an insurance claim in your hand to fill out from the local server/deliver of the package. You have to call Waco Texas with the UPS to even get permission to file a claim. Again good luck with your claim...UPS stands for U People are Screwed.
 @yaquina  @August100 Wow. That is disturbing to hear.
If they call the delivery company they might be able to get the insurance because they were never delivered to the intended recipient. I have had UPS deliver stuff and left it outside in the rain which ruined the contents. UPS paid for the replacement.
Still disapointing to lose something your dad sends after not seeing him for a year. Maybe he could do that and still send some gifts, it would be like two Christmases! Christmas's? Crap, now the spelling posse will get me; how DO you spell Christmas x 2? My head hurts, I need a beer.
 @iamtroglodite I'll take "Christmas X2 for a thousand, please!"
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It's such a sad day when most of the news is filled with crime and insults, instead of "peace, goodwill towards man(kind)". Guess the "mankind" in this story who stole the packages were more like animals.Â
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Sorry to hear about this.
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@HarryJuku By the way, I have had a couple of deliveries that were "signature required", but I found on my doorstep when I got home from work. So, you see, that doesn't always work! I am so sorry for this family, because it was something meant for THEM, not some MORON thief!
 @HarryJuku It never ceases to amaze me the number of people who neglect this simple step when sending supposedly important packages. Â
@HarryJuku yeah, yeah. We know harry is perfect.
 @iamtroglodite  @HarryJuku ~  This doesn't have anything to do with "being perfect"... it's actually a pretty good idea, especially at this time of year, and with thieves all over the place, swiping anything they can get their grubby little hands on..Â
When I had my eBay store, I used to require a signature for anything that was of unusual value or something that could not be easily replaced (eg: a vintage or antique item), and, of course, I would do that any time my customer requested it. Â Â
If shipping packages by Fedex, UPS you do have the option of requiring a signature so the driver does not leave it. Or have it "hold for pickup" at the closest Fedex or UPS hub. This time of year especially is not a good time to have packages of any type left on front step, front porch etc. Good attitude on the part of Keziah!
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It really sucks when people do this but it does happen. A lot depends on the shipper as to what they want to do, either have it left with no signature, or make sure someone trustworthy signs for it.
I'm sure the father is making way-over $100,000 a year in Kuwait; by the way the family is staged in the photo it looks like someone died or was taken hostage....
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I mean look at their living room; does that family REALLY NEEDÂ more stuff?
 @August100 "...does that family REALLY NEED more stuff?" What business is it of yours how much they have?
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Maybe you know where their packages are...
Exactly! Nobodys buisness. I still think it is not the gift physical value, it is from dad, he picked it out, he wrapped it, he touched it with love. When a kid doesn't see dad for a year, a couple pennies wrapped by him would be special.
 @August100 Dude, go sit on a really big candy cane...one that has a really sharp end. Maybe that will give you some holiday spirit.
 @August100 I get cranky when I haven't eaten either. Please go eat and don't be nasty.
 @August100 Could you be any more insensitive? Who care how much the man makes? They had gifts stolen that their dad sent them. How would you feel if this happened to you?Â
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Oh wait, I don't think anyone would see fit to do anything so kind for the likes you.
Yo, August, is your last name Grinch? A lump of coal for you on Christmas!
 @August100 ~ What the He11 does his SALARY have to do with anything?!?   Or, for that matter, the things that the family has, either..!  Â
Do you honestly feel as cold and heartless as you sound in your posts..? Â Â If, so, I really feel sorry for you, because you must have a VERY unhappy life... Â
Sheesh..!
 @margay1 A Hundred Thousand other people got ripped off yesterday too...DEAL WITH IT!
 @August100  @margay1 Bah Humbug!
Man, you and harry would make a great team. Two turds in a toilet! Don't you realize it is not always the stuff, but maybe who it came from? They have not seen him in a year! Oh, forget it. You guys will never understand.
The house where the gifts were stolen was the children's grandmother's house. The dad sent the gifts there because he thought they were safer than the home where the mom and kids live. Whether that was wise or not has no bearing on the fact that someone stole from children.
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The dad makes a lot of money in Kuwait, but the mom and kids are poor despite her full-time job. And Keziah's attitude is shared by the whole family. The news story was mostly about the dad, which is sad, because Bethany and her kids really get Christmas and it would have been nice to hear more about that.
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If wrappings were spread all over the yard there is NO question in my mind kids in the neighborhood stole the gifts. An adult would have taken the whole box or just certain packages. Â Check the neighborhood folks. Â Pastor have some church members put posters around and flyers on the doors.
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Was the father on top of it to insure the package. Â There should have been someway to track it on line with UPS or FEDX to know the day of arrival.
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I am sure the gifts were irreplaceable. Â Keziah is right family is the most important. Â