FOX CROSSING, WI (WTAQ) – 17 hundred cases of diapers worth $45 thousand stolen from a warehouse used to store donations to the Fox Cities Diaper bank.
The thefts were committed between January 3rd and February 15th.
“In my 23 years of law enforcement…it was pretty shocking to see the volume of diapers that were taken”
But Lt Scott Blaschka caught a break.
Tips from the public led to the arrest of 2 suspects in the case and the recovery of some of the diapers.
“This was a case where tips from the public was crucial in being able to track them down”
Peter Kelly, with United Way Fox Valley, calls the a blow to the agency.
“The theft was approximately a 3rd of our inventory…so it was a significant impact”
Perhaps more remarkable, when word got out about the theft Kelly says the community came to the rescue.
“I’ve been doing this for a number of years, but I’m still amazed at how generous people are”
The calls started coming in as soon as the report hit the media.
“We will have certainly more than doubled the amount of diapers that were stolen…which will allow us to give away that many more diapers to families in need”
The suspects, 42 year old Jason Havel and 52 year old John Forbes, are former employees of Valley Packaging.
Police are recommending charges of felony theft against both of them.
