A valley family woke up Christmas morning to celebrate and open presents, only to find they were hit by a thief in the middle of the night.
It was all caught on camera -- but the person caught committing the crime is no seasoned criminal. She's a little girl.
What was stolen wasn't expensive -- it was a Christmas wreath on the family's front door. But it did have special meaning for them.
They were stunned to see who made off with the wreath when they checked their security cameras.
Christmas morning at the Demarest home in west Phoenix was picture perfect, until the family noticed something missing on their front door. Their Christmas wreath was gone.
"We looked, and we're all like okay maybe somebody misplaced it, maybe someone took it down and put it away, and that's what we normally do at night," says Chris Demarest.
When Chris Demarest took a look at his home security camera recordings, he couldn't believe what he saw. Who appears to be a young girl approaches the home around 3 a.m. and grabs the wreath from the door. A motion light turns on and the girl runs off.
"If she wanted it she could have come in the daytime, knocked on the door, that would have been something else. but you don't take things in the middle of the night from people. That's just wrong."
Chris says he installed these cameras around his home about a year ago to try and keep his family and his home safe. But he never thought he'd actually catch a thief on camera.
Demarest says his family is just hoping the girl who took the wreath will bring it back.
"It's homemade, and you can't just go out to the store and buy another one. It was personally made by hand, by my sister," he says. "Whoever it is -- come clean. Learn that stealing is not the way to go."
The Demarest family did file a police report, and say they don't recognize the girl in the video.
They would consider pursuing charges if she is found.
We've all seen the holiday decorations on homes all over the valley, but have you ever seen a house decorated by holiday houses? It's drawing big crowds in Chandler.
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You better plan ahead - way ahead - for upcoming Black Friday sales this year, especially now that Walmart will open up stores at 8 p.m. Thanksgiving Thursday.
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AP photo
Actress Amanda Bynes was arrested Thursday for allegedly smoking marijuana in the lobby of her Midtown Manhattan building, police said. The troubled celebrity is also accused of throwing her "drug paraphernalia"
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An Edison, N.J., police officer was arrested and accused of setting fire to the home of a police captain in his department, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.
An Edison, N.J., police officer was arrested and accused of setting fire to the home of a police captain in his department, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.
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Former Rep. Anthony Weiner launched his campaign for mayor of New York City this week, but his website seems to indicate he is running for office in Pittsburgh. The stylized and colorized image used in
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AP photo
President Barack Obama plans to give the Jersey Shore a boost with a post-Memorial Day visit to showcase recovery efforts in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.
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Thursday, May 23 2013 8:50 PM EDT2013-05-24 00:50:04 GMT
Heavy downpours sparked flash flooding across the tristate area on Thursday. The National Weather Service issued numerous weather alerts for many counties in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
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Thursday, May 23 2013 7:42 PM EDT2013-05-23 23:42:40 GMT
The Bronx Zoo has unveiled its animatronics dinosaur exhibit. The exhibit, called Dinosaur Safari, is something different from the zoo, which is better known for its exhibits of living animals. The ride
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