More Frostys on thin ice
Hobart detectives couldn't help but make light of the theft of an inflatable Frosty the Snowman, a crime also being investigated in Merrillville.
A detective disguised his voice during a phone conversation with Hobart Lt. Leo Finnerty and said Frosty would be a goner if certain guidelines were not met, Hobart Police Chief Brian Snedecor said.
Inflatable Frostys were stolen from a Hobart candy factory and from outside two Merrillville homes, and police said they have no leads.
Merrillville police Operations Cmdr. Mark Gregoline said Wednesday that he received a call from a resident of the 9900 block of Randolph Street who said an 8-foot inflatable snowman had been stolen from his front yard.
Gregoline said this most recent theft is just a short distance from one reported to police Sunday by a resident in the 9800 block of Randolph. Resident Drew Fabian reported in that incident that his 12-foot inflatable snowman and air pump were taken from his front yard last weekend. The value of the snowman is $100, Gregoline said.
Gregoline said he is aware of the theft of a 12-foot inflatable snowman from the front of Albanese Candy Factory and Outlet Store on U.S. 30 in Hobart. He said the three thefts may be connected.
"I will be talking to Hobart police to see if they have any leads," he said.
Larry Albanese, the candy store's regional sales manager, said he is offering a $50 gift tray and a 20-second shopping spree as a reward for the safe return of the 12-foot snowman.
Surveillance cameras recorded a man struggling to shove the store's prop into the cab of his Ford Ranger at 11 p.m. Sunday. A copy of the surveillance tape has been turned over to police.
Although the original hasn't been returned, a representative of Fifth Third Bank in Chicago replaced Albanese's stolen Frosty on Wednesday.
"It's a replacement one, it's not the original," Albanese said. "We are going to leave a spot for the original one while we wait for Frosty's return."