It’s been two months since Christmas, yet for the Wilson family, the memories linger for all the wrong reasons. The holiday season turned sour when their carefully chosen Christmas gifts vanished from their apartment building’s storage unit. Despite their efforts, the landlord’s’ response has left much to be desired.
The Wilsons, enjoying a sunny day with their children at the park, recall the turmoil that unfolded not long ago.
“We went to go grab them, I unlocked the door, opened it up and to my surprise there were no gifts in there,” Lily Wilson recounted. “Anything that we did put meaning into for the kids, all the presents we picked out for them — they were all gone,” Aaron Wilson added.
Approximately $800 worth of Christmas presents had disappeared from the storage unit, meticulously purchased, wrapped, and stored just a week prior. The family discovered that their presents were the sole target of the theft, as nothing else of value was taken from the unit.
“The presents were all sitting right here. I imagine whoever did take them probably saw us put them in because it was the only thing taken out of there. No tools, nothing expensive, and the door was re-locked as well,” Aaron Wilson said.
Despite the presence of three security cameras overseeing the area, including the storage unit located outside the main lobby, obtaining security footage proved challenging. Upon contacting their landlord, Homestead Landholdings, to report the theft, the Wilsons were met with skepticism and uncooperativeness.
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“Within that phone call, she said they couldn’t say anything about the cameras, they were waiting for the police to contact them to get the footage and essentially told me they thought that I gave my keys away to someone else,” Lily Wilson stated.
Although Kingston Police initiated an investigation, it was halted due to a lack of evidence. The Wilsons allege that Homestead failed to provide the security footage to the police, claiming there was nothing of value to review.
“It makes me feel like someone from Homestead potentially did it. Especially if they’re saying there was no evidence found on the cameras,” Lily Wilson expressed her suspicion.
Efforts by Global News to reach out to Homestead for comment went unanswered.
Despite the setback, the Wilsons found solace in the overwhelming support they received from their community. A post on a Kingston Reddit page garnered widespread attention, with hundreds of individuals offering to replace the stolen gifts.
However, for the Wilsons, the sentimentality of the lost presents cannot be replaced.
“I’m just hoping that wherever the presents did end up, there’s a kid somewhere playing with them,” Aaron Wilson said.
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