MONTROSE – A newly married Montrose couple has never been targeted by a package thief until irreplaceable items from their wedding of a lifetime were stolen from their driveway.
Maximiliano and Katie Degwitz married in Sedona, Arizona on Sept. 30.
“Our dream wedding. Beautiful place,” Maximiliano said.
As they packed up the wedding to go on their Hawaii honeymoon, they filled four boxes with items they wouldn’t need to ship back to their Houston home.
The box included her wedding dress, veil, and original family photos displayed at the wedding.
“In that box was the only picture I had of my parent’s wedding, and the only picture of one of my grandparents’ weddings,” Katie Degwitz said.
When they returned home Sunday night, all of the items were gone after a porch pirate, captured on their surveillance camera, swiped one large box only seven hours after it was delivered.
They had a close friend coming to check on the house every other day while they were gone, who came by less than 24 hours after the delivery to put the boxes inside.
“He grabbed a couple of them, saw which one he wanted to carry, and left with it. Just like that. No shame,” Maximiliano said.
But all of the special keepsakes inside are invaluable to the Degwitzes.
“There’s no use for him with most of these items or any of these items. But it does have a lot of value to us,” Maximiliano said.
They hope someone will recognize him or their belongings so they can hang on to reminders of their special day.
“Things can always be replaced, except for pictures that are original,” Maximiliano said. “If we can prevent this from happening to somebody else, there’s a lot of satisfaction in just that.”
According to Parcel Pending, a package management company, tips to avoid package theft include:
- Providing delivery instructions, like a back porch or the side of the house
- Requiring a signature for delivery
- Having packages delivered to work
- Asking a trusted neighbor to help