Apology Not Accepted: Pumpkin Thief's Confession Falls Flat

The
great pumpkin mystery has been solved! A little boy whose heart was
broken after a thief stole his 100-pound pumpkin got a pre-Halloween
treat when the criminal returned it on Sunday with a note, apologizing
for his (or her) behavior.

The
note read, "I'm really sorry about taking your pumpkin. It was wrong of
me. You earned the pumpkin. I didn't think my actions through nor
realize who they were affecting. Sincerest apologies." 

Jaiden Newcomer,
a 9-year-old from York, Pennsylvania had won the gigantic pumpkin on
Sept. 28 at an Oktoberfest event in the nearby town of Red Lion, after
guessing its correct weight. “He was really excited to bring home the
pumpkin, which was so heavy, four people had to help haul it with a
wheelbarrow,” Corey Newcomer, Jaiden’s father, told Yahoo Shine. 

A week or so later, the pumpkin mysteriously vanished during the night, while Corey was
at work and his wife, Amy; their 5-year-old son, Peyton; and Jaiden
were all sleeping. “Jaiden didn’t notice it was gone until he returned
home from school,” Corey says. “He was inconsolable for 10 minutes, he
couldn’t understand why someone would steal from him.” 

That day,
the family published a letter in the York Daily Record explaining the
situation, and offers for a replacement pumpkin began pouring in. A
Cumberland County plant nursery gave Jaiden a new giant pumpkin, and
Cape Horn Beverage offered the boy a smaller one. “Jaiden said the
thieves were ‘stupid jerks,’ but he was happy that so many strangers
were helping him,” says Corey.

The family had given up hope until
Saturday, when Corey received an anonymous email. “Amy and I were away
for the weekend celebrating our 10-year wedding anniversary, but I
received a message from a person with an unidentifiable email address,
saying that they overheard an acquaintance bragging about stealing our
pumpkin,” he says. 

Corey
and his wife planned on alerting the police but when they returned home
on Sunday after picking up Jaiden from baseball practice, the pumpkin
was on their doorstep, with a note of apology taped to it. "I was really
surprised that the thief returned it," Corey admits. "On the one hand,
the gesture shows that this person has somewhat of a conscience, but
it's hard to be pleased with someone who stole from a child in the first
place." 

As for Jaiden: "He and his brother are just thrilled to have their pumpkin back."