HINTON, W.Va. — It was the Grinch who almost stole Christmas in Hinton.
Hinton Area Elementary School Principal Angela Gumm said a man stole a Santa Claus and reindeer inflatable from in front of the school at around 6:50 a.m. Tuesday.
“One of my teacher assistants saw him rolling it up on her way into the building and she actually confronted him and said, ‘Hey! What do you have?’ And his replay was ‘Nothing.’ and she said ‘You’re lying. That’s ours!’ And he took off down the alley,” Gumm told MetroNews.
The man was wearing a dark hoodie.
Gumm posted what happened on the school’s Facebook page and few hours later she got a call from a man from the community who had seen the post.
“And he said a ‘smormy looking guy,’ his words, sold it to him for 10 dollars and so when he saw where it came from he brought it to the school for us,” Gumm said.
The Santa inflatable and a gingerbread man inflatable were both purchased recently by the school’s PTO.
“We try to go with the hometown theme of Christmas so our building can be decorated like others here in town. We weren’t expecting this,” she said.
Gumm said the teaching assistant was brave.
“But I told her she probably doesn’t want to confront someone like that again though…..not in this neighborhood.”
The gingerbread man display was damaged but not taken.