A four-foot-high stump is what remains of a blue spruce tree that was chopped and stolen from a property in Kamloops.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Desiree Sonneson

Apparently people will do just about anything to get a real Christmas tree — even cutting it down from their neighbours.

A blue spruce tree on a property in the Westsyde community in Kamloops was cut down and stolen two nights ago, and the owners want it back.

It’s the third Christmas season in a row resident Desiree Sonneson had a tree lopped off and stolen from her property at the 5800 block of Westsyde Road.

"It's disheartening, there's just no reason for this," she said. 

Numerous blue spruce trees line the fence that separates Sonneson’s property from the main road, and they have sentimental value for her as they were planted by her dad over two decades ago when she was growing up there.

“They were planted for privacy, we’re on a reclaimed gravel pit, it was dad’s idea to plant them to make the property look nice,” she said. “He put in drip lines years ago to get them started, there was a lot of effort made.”

The only evidence found at the scene are scuff marks and what appears to be one set of footprints.

“They would have had to be on top of the fence, it looks like the tree was dropped onto the roadside and dragged up the road," Sonneson said. "There were no tire tracks at all, and it was hard to tell how many footprints, there’s not a lot of snow.”

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What is left is a four-foot-high stump.

“It was cut at the height of the fence so they chopped it at what looks like a nice five-foot tall Christmas tree," she said.

Sonneson is appealing to the public for anyone who witnessed the theft that happened between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 1.

Without proof or a license plate, Sonneson did not report the theft to RCMP.

“If anyone saw anything, we could still be lucky enough to track down this person, unfortunately, we don’t think we will,” she said. 

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Sonneson plans to install a security system to prevent further tree thefts in the future.

“It was the perfect Christmas tree, we want to get it back and we want this person found, they need to be held accountable. He is definitely the Grinch.”

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