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Holiday ruined: Red Deer senior’s car with presents stolen on Christmas Day

For one Red Deer senior, Christmas Day was nothing she had wished for.
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Iris Dow loaded up these presents in her car for her adult children and nine grandchildren on Christmas Day just as she was about to leave for family dinner. The car, along with the gifts, was stolen from her driveway. Photo contributed

For one Red Deer senior, Christmas Day was nothing she had wished for.

Every year, the Red Deer grandmother, Iris Dow, has presents for the family. But this year, the wrapped and ready-to-go gifts were stolen from her car.

Abe Clark, a Sylvan Lake resident, said her grandmother was loading up her car with presents on Christmas Day in the Mustang Acres area of Red Deer. That was just around 2 p.m., before Dow was supposed to leave for dinner with the family in another part of the city.

“She had started the car, forgot something inside, went to go grab it, came back out, and the car was just gone,” explained Clark.

The car was stolen, and so were her presents, worth about $400 for Dow’s three adult children and nine grandchildren.

“It wasn’t even a minute. She just ran in, and it was gone, and her driveway is right next to the (front) door too,” said Clark. “It was pretty quick.”

The incident put a damper on the family’s Christmas celebration.

“She was distraught, pretty upset. Mostly because it was Christmas and she always has a present to give, and this time, she didn’t have anything. So she was pretty upset about it,” said Clark about her grandmother, who is in her 60s.

As soon as the family members heard what had happened, they hit the Red Deer streets to see if they could spot the car, a 2010 navy blue Cobalt.

“It bummed everybody out,” Clark said.

“She (grandmother) shed some tears, she was shaken up over it, she cried,” said Clark. “My parents, her kids, my aunt and uncle, they were pretty angry.”

The 20-year-old said some of the family members suspect someone was watching as the presents were being loaded in the trunk.

The granddaughter said her grandmother’s car was insured. She used the vehicle to go everywhere, including her cashier job.

The incident was reported to the police.



mamta.lulla@reddeeradvocate.com

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