CCTV clue in hunt for Making Miracles charity cash box thief
00:01, 15 August 2015
Police have released a CCTV image of a man they want to speak to after cash was stolen from a baby bereavement charity.
Making Miracles is raising money for a baby memorial garden as well as extra equipment at the hospital’s fetal unit, where volunteers were selling knitted goods and collecting cash on July 31.
But the charity workers were left distraught when they realised a man had walked off with their cash box containing almost £100.
It was the second setback for the charity in a month, following the vandalism of its baby memorial garden in St Margaret’s Street, Rochester, also in July.
The charity spent months raising £20,000 and clearing the area to create a tranquil place for parents to mourn their loss, but yobs violently trashed the site and lit a bonfire in the grounds.
Those culprits have still not been caught, but with an image of the alleged thief now released, charity founder Kelly Wells hopes progress will be made with the investigation.
Mrs Wells set up the charity after her daughter Summer was diagnosed with a rare heart condition, but pulled through against the odds.
She described how the thief stole the box from the charity, based at Medway Maritime Hospital.
“A guy went up and distracted one of our volunteers. He asked if they had something in a different colour, she went off to the store cupboard and he put his hoodie or jacket on the box. The other lady didn’t see and he picked it up and walked off.
“It’s two awful sets of circumstances that have happened in one month, and it has left us doubly shaken.
“But we won’t be beaten, we’ll carry on.”
The man was described as in his 30s, with dark hair, wearing baggy jogging bottoms and a grey hoodie. He was about 5ft 6in, white and very skinny, with two red marks on the left hand side of his face.
Witnesses are asked to call PC Emma Davies on 101 quoting reference XY/26451/15.
A website has been set up to recoup losses.