Hundreds Of Toys Meant For Needy Children Went Missing In Hialeah
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HIALEAH (CBSMIAMI) -- Just 48 days before Christmas, a Grinch struck in Hialeah, and a charity's estimated 800 toys are missing.
An empty warehouse is not what the Kiwanis Club Coral Gables Latin was expecting to see less than 50 days before Christmas.
Click here to watch MaryAnn Martinez's report.
"The boxes with more or less 800 new toys were in the warehouse," said Kiwanis Club Chairman Aquiles R. Solano.
Solano said that's what they're left with now, after marked boxes with an estimated 800 toys disappeared. The toys are party of the club's yearly toy drive for needy children.
"There were witnesses that say that the toys were given, taken away in a truck and in a pick up (truck,)" said George Sixto of the Kiwanis club.
Sixto said a volunteer offered up a warehouse in Hialeah for toy storage. The Kiwanis Club Coral Gables Latin said while that volunteer was out of the country, he defaulted on his rent. Next thing they knew, the toys were gone, and the warehouse landlord didn't have a solid explanation about the toys' whereabouts.
"Those toys go to needy kids in different places from Central Florida to South Miami," said Sixto.
Now the charity is asking for new toys, aiming for 200 to 300 before December 22. While they have not filed a police report for the missing toys, they promise to do a better job securing any new toys that are donated.
"They will not get lost this time because we're going to secure a warehouse of another Kiwanis member," said Sixto.
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