TORONTO -- Neighbours in Victoria are keeping a closer eye on their gardens following a string of garden gnome thefts in the quiet neighbourhood.
Heather Boggs said she realized several of her gnomes had been stolen last Friday when she went to tend to her garden in the West Shore community and saw empty spaces where she would normally find her gnomes.
“I went to put my garden gloves on the stove like I always do and I thought there's a lot of space here. I was like, 'Where are my gnomes?'” Boggs told CTV News.
Luckily the gnome-snatcher was caught in the act as Boggs’ doorbell camera filmed the kidnapping as it happened.
The footage shows a male removing three gnomes from Boggs’ porch before fleeing into the night. She described the gnome thief as a six-foot-tall male with a hair in a ponytail, wearing socks with sandals.
Boggs shared the footage on Facebook to warn others and found that her neighbour who lives on the same street had also been targeted.
Sher Gosling told CTV News she believes the same man stole her gnome that would usually welcome guests in front of her home.
“They stole my welcome gnome that's at the end of the driveway and sits on a little bench with a little welcome sign,” she said.
While Gosling said it’s not the crime of the century, she was still upset by the theft.
“It's gutting and it just gives you a horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach,” she said.
While these mythical figures might not seem valuable, for Boggs, one gnome in particular meant a great deal. Boggs is a breast cancer survivor and, as a gift to celebrate her final chemo treatment, her mother gave her a little statue for her garden.
“They're stupid little garden things but they actually hold value to me,” she said.
“I just had my last chemo on my birthday and she got it for me so I looked hard trying to find that one."
While Boggs and Gosling reported the thefts to West Shore RCMP, many questions remain unanswered on the whereabouts of the decorative ornaments.
