Woman not feeling merry after nutcracker theft

updated 7:25 p.m. ET Dec. 25, 2007

DUBLIN, Ohio - Thieves ruined Christmas for one woman this year by stealing the pair of 6-foot-tall nutcracker statues from in front of her house.

"We didn't know anyone could be so mean," Stacie Hoyles said. "It's terrible to say, but this just took my whole Christmas spirit away."

The 100-pound statues, which Hoyles and her husband, Craig Hoyles, nicknamed Mr. Nut and Mr. Cracker, were taken Dec. 7 while the couple slept. The couple found Mr. Nut's torso at a roadside about a mile away the next day, and Dublin police found other splintered parts nearby.

Officers said it appeared the statue had been dragged through the streets by a car.

The other statue was found in a field, partially burned with several parts missing.

A neighbor said she heard teenagers stop near her home the night of the theft, according to a police report.

The couple bought the statues for $500 four years ago, but Stacie Hoyles said the only replacements she could find were being sold online for $1,500.

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