Kelowna family devastated as keepsakes, presents stolen days before Christmas

KELOWNA – When Jenny Beston got home from work Monday evening, an RCMP officer was standing outside her open front door. And her heart sank.

Her first thought was that something terrible happened. Her husband Jason is working out of town and as far as she knew, her two kids, ages eight and five, were at daycare.

“There was a pit in my stomach,” she says. “Usually when there’s police at your door it’s not good.”

Although everyone was safe, she soon found out the young family of four had been violated in a very callous and real way.

Sometime Monday, a thief broke in, likely through the back door, and stole all the wrapped Christmas presents from under the tree. They also took a video game system, jewelry and a jewelry box that contained several irreplaceable personal items.

“They took my sons little hand plaque that we made when he was two months old and also the birth tags from when they were born,” she says. “That was more upsetting than anything.”

A diamond ring she was planning to one day give to her daughter is also missing.

Their dog, Archer, a three-year-old chocolate lab, was found wandering Ethel Street.

“They left both of my doors wide open and my dog must have ran away,” she says. “He was walking towards the Hospice House and a care aid found him. They kept him for me and this lovely guy took him for a walk and then brought him home.”

Police told her they received a tip an extremely intoxicated man was seen trying to get a cab. When they searched him they found birth certificates and bank information containing the Beston’s address.

“The guy said he found it in a dumpster but who knows,” she says. “It’s just the personal items that we can’t replace. Police said they’d look around for them but they’re probably gone.”

Although she admits to being “shaken up” at the thought of a stranger in her home, she is more concerned with moving forward and making it a good Christmas for the kids.

“They’re kind of in shock,” she says. “They’re upset about the presents and the Xbox but they’re little. They’ll be okay. At least everyone is safe.”

It is not yet clear if any arrests have been made and RCMP were unavailable for comment.

If any personal items matching the descriptions of the stolen items are found in the Cadder/Ethel area, please phone Kelowna RCMP at 250-762-3300.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.