Diane Stetar poses with the flowers given to her from family and friends after her store, A Favor to Remember, was raided last week. She just found out it's unlikely insurance will cover the losses.

(GLYNN BROTHEN / iNFOnews.ca)

KAMLOOPS - At a time when the holidays are about gifting, a local business-owner was targeted by thieves who stole multiple items from her store, along with her four children’s Christmas gifts.

Diane Stetar says thieves robbed her Aberdeen store, A Favor To Remember, the evening of Dec. 15 by entering through a construction site.

“It’s just been a whirlwind,” she says. “I’m kind of out of it, I’m so shocked."

Along with the store’s cash register, multiple toys, stuffed animals, a gumball machine and decorations were lifted in the raid. She’s still trying to calculate the total loss.

But the worst part for Stetar was discovering thieves took the Christmas gifts she was hiding in the store for her four children aged 10, eight, five and three.

To add insult to injury, Stetar says she recently changed location and the insurance on her store was not transferred yet. Her broker told her today, Dec. 22, there was a five per cent chance of recovering the losses.

While the odds aren’t great, Stetar keeps trying to look at the silver lining. After hearing the likelihood of insurance coverage she says she bawled her eyes out, only to find her naughty thieves took a package of ‘coal candy’ — a touch of irony she says made her laugh.

“It was the humour I needed on a very bad day,” she says.

Although she feels overwhelmed at this point, Stetar says she’s amazed by the amount of support she and her family keep receiving from community members. A teacher and secretary from her children’s school teamed up to help with Christmas gifts for Stetar’s kids, a GoFundMe page was created and her husband’s co-workers sent her flowers today.

"I want to thank everyone for their support. That speaks volumes and makes me more grateful,” she says. "Life is full of things to celebrate; that’s what this store is about."

The store, located at 1440 Hugh Allan Dr., remains open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Christmas Eve, but can only accept cash payments.

If you have any information on this theft, contact the Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000.

To contact a reporter for this story, email gbrothen@infonews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

News from © iNFOnews, 2015