Thieves hack down, steal 78 Christmas trees from Puyallup-area farm
UPDATE 8 p.m.: Federal Way police report that they have arrested a male suspect who has admitted to stealing trees from the Puyallup tree farm.
The man had stolen a truck, cargo trailer and fifth wheel trailer. Some of the trees were recovered.
Original story:
That Christmas tree you just bought at the corner lot might be hot.
A Puyallup-area Christmas tree farm had 78 Fraser firs stolen between late Saturday and early Monday. The trees are valued at more than $6,000, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.
“Grinch alert!” the Sheriff’s Department tweeted Friday. “We don’t have a description of the suspects ... but we’re guessing their heart is an empty hole, their brain is full of spiders, & they’ve got garlic in their soul.”
The Sheriff’s Department asked for tips on the theft, which occurred at Snow Shoe Evergreen Christmas Tree Farm on state Route 162 East.
The living trees were apparently sawed from their trunks while still in the ground.
A message left by The News Tribune at the Christmas tree farm was not immediately returned Friday.
At Home Depot, a 6-foot-tall Fraser fir was selling for $87 on Friday. Christmas tree prices are up all over the nation due to a national shortage, according to NBC’s Today show. Hot weather, too much rain and the 2008 recession were all cited as causes.
This story was originally published December 13, 2019 at 1:57 PM.
