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Thief Bikes Off With Salvation Army Donation Kettle Outside Michigan Walmart

The Salvation Army, along with Michigan’s Roseville Police Department, were seeking help tracking down an individual who stole one of the charity’s red kettles used for holiday-season fundraising outside a Walmart in Roseville on December 5.

Footage of the theft shows a man using a coat to conceal the kettle as he walks away with it. Moments later he bikes past the scene of the crime.

Police said a Salvation Army bell ringer had stepped away for a moment when the suspect cut a security wire on the kettle to steal it.

The amount of money inside the kettle is undetermined, police say. However, the Salvation Army of Metro Detroit told Storyful that a red kettle can take in up to $500 in donations daily.

“Funds raised during the Salvation Army’s red kettle campaign help provide critical social services and programs throughout metro Detroit, including educational and outdoor programs for youth, a legal aid clinic, drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs, and much more than meals and shelter,” the Salvation Army said.

The nonprofit said its red kettle campaign was running through January 31, and that they hoped to raise $8 million in Michigan’s Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties. Roseville is located in Macomb County. Credit: Roseville Police Department via Storyful