Christmas Grinch Stolen : Dr. Seuss Character, Other Figures Taken From Lawn Tableaux

The Grinch that stole Christmas was stolen Sunday. And Marc and Sue Vertin’s Christmas adaptation of the fictitious town of Whoville just won’t be the same.

The green monster and other characters from Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” which was the theme of the Vertins’ elaborate Christmas tableaux, were plucked from the front lawn of the family’s Mission Viejo home sometime late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. They awoke Sunday to an empty front lawn and a lot of disappointment.

“This is supposed to be Christmas,” Marc Vertin said. “When people resort to stealing decorations off of front lawns, I think it’s disgusting.”

Sue Vertin said the thieves filched the 6-foot-tall plywood Grinch, along with a 2-foot-tall Max the Dog, a mailbox for the Grinch and a directional sign for Whoville.

“It just ruined the scene,” Sue Vertin said. “Without the Grinch, it just doesn’t make sense anymore.”

Protected From Wind

All of the decorations were staked and wired to the ground to protect them from the recent wind storms. The thieves, she said, must have been equipped with wire cutters and other supplies to steal the figures without anyone hearing them.

The Vertin’s street, Loma Verde, has a reputation for attracting flocks of admirers who come to gaze at festively decorated houses. But some of the homes also have had their share of vandalism and petty thefts.

Two years ago, a home decorated with a sleigh of boxes wrapped in Christmas paper was littered with the boxes, newspapers and beer bottles after youths ripped open the fake gifts hoping to find something inside. Last Saturday, Bill Heffernan, who has been decorating his home for the past 6 years, chased away a potential thief who was trying to steal one of the two fake Christmas trees he had on his front lawn.

“Every year, somebody tries to steal something from our house,” Heffernan said. “I guess it’s to be expected.”

Second Season of Theft

The theft of the Vertins’ decorations marks the second year in a row that their home has been vandalized during the Christmas season. Last year, floodlights were stolen and the lighting wires were cut.

For Marc Vertin, this year’s theft has dashed his own delight in the festive displays. “Last year, I wanted to just forget about putting things up anymore. . . . I decided to continue because the kids from around the area love it so much,” he said. “But this year, it’s gone too far. As far as me decorating again, at this point, I think it’s very doubtful.”

Since the Grinch’s disappearance, The Vertins have removed the rest of their Christmas decorations except for some lights around their house and a small Christmas tree that stands near a 4-by-4-foot sign they erected to notify passers-by of the theft.

“We don’t really do this for us but for the community and the people and the kids,” Sue Vertin explained. “One little girl walked by with her mother to see the decorations, and when she saw that they were gone, she kept asking, ‘But why, Mommy? Why?’

“That’s my question too.”

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department gave the family a few options to better secure their home from any more Christmas crooks. They could either connect the decorations to their home’s alarm system or join with other neighbors and hire a security guard to watch the homes for burglars.

Jim Hoover, who lives down the street from the Vertins, was also disturbed by the burglary. Hoover, who has been decorating his home for the past 6 years without any difficulty, said stealing the figures was the last straw.

‘Everyone Is Upset’

“Everyone is upset that the Grinch was stolen,” Hoover said. “To me, that’s the worst prank anyone could do. We bring thousands of people into this area every year, and what help do we get from the city to make sure our homes are OK? Nothing.

“When things like this happen and (decorations) are stolen, I think, ‘Why even bother?’ ” he added. “If we don’t receive any kind of help from the city, this will be my last year.”

Hoover said he and Marc Vertin are planning to attend Mission Viejo’s next City Council meeting to request that the city hire a security guard to look after the houses’ decorations or more deputies to cruise through the streets.