Police in Mississippi are searching for a man who robbed a Salvation Army bell ringer of her donations outside a grocery store on Tuesday.
WLOX reported that bell ringer Michelle Pope, was outside of a Winn Dixie in Gulfport about to end her shift when the thief came up and stole the donations bucket. Pope then chased after him, but he got away with the money.
One thing the grinch who stole the kettle probably didn’t realize was that the whole incident was caught on surveillance video. In the footage, he can be seen walking up to the store wearing a red cap, a blue jacket, jeans and black shoes. Then, he appears on the side of Pope before running off with the donations.
The Salvation Army's Major Gary Sturdivant said that he never saw anyone steal a bucket from a ringer in 30 years.
"It's so sad because if that individual would come down to the Salvation Army, if they would have a need, my goodness, we will meet that need, if we have the resources," Sturdivant said.
The Associated Press noted that Pope said she became a bell ringer this year because she needed some extra money. Ringers have been hired at minimum wage this season because of a lack of volunteers.
The Salvation Army is a Christian charitable organization with more than 1.5 million members worldwide.