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Christmas gifts for families in need stolen from nonprofit's trailer

Posted at 10:56 AM, Dec 12, 2019
and last updated 2019-12-12 10:56:35-05

MT. JULIET, Tenn. -- Christmas gifts for families in need were stolen from a nonprofit's trailer in Tennessee.

The director of Big Brothers of Mt. Juliet, Sherry Bilbrey, is heartbroken.

"I’ve cried, and I’ve cried, and I’ve cried," Bilbrey said. "It breaks our heart.”

The majority of gifts stored inside the trailer are gone.

"This is the saddest thing I’ve ever seen," Bilbrey said. "That’s the way they left the trailer."

Thieves ripped through a metal hand bar to get into the locked trailer. It was stored on a friend's property in the woods in Wilson County.

"The storage buildings were eating us up, and we couldn’t afford them anymore," Bilbrey said.

Now she is scrambling to get presents ahead of the Last Minute Toy Store on December 21.

"If we can get some donations, we’re going to have that store, and we’ll have it until we run out, and then we’ll close the doors," Bilbrey said.

The Wilson County Sheriff's Office is investigating what happened. He wants the thieves prosecuted.

"How would you feel if it was your family that needed Christmas, and you walked into a place and you couldn’t get it?"

Amazon and local churches had donated the stolen items. If you would like to help, you can call the nonprofit at 615-641-0577 or drop off toys at the Mt. Juliet Police Department.

This story was originally published by Alexandra Koehn at WTVF.