JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A mother's warning on the night before Christmas is to keep your gifts in a safe place or they might not be there when morning comes.
"It just upsets me every time I open my trunk because they got in and it was filled," Cindy Pride said.
The Westside woman said a Grinch stole more than $1,000 worth of Christmas gifts for her four sons from her trunk.
It happened over the weekend at the Normandy Estates Mobile Home Park.
"My instinct told me something is not right. And I went and I immediately popped the trunk," Pride said.
Pride's trunk once with Christmas gifts is now littered with the bags and boxes they used to be in.
"Who does this? Who does this to somebody?" Pride asked.
Jacksonville police are investigating, but so far don't know who stole the holiday spirit.
"How much do you think everything was worth?" asked News4Jax's Vic Micolucci.
"It was around $1,200," Pride said.
Pride said she bought the presents at the mall, but didn't take them out of her trunk when she got home. Her son borrowed the car and apparently forgot to lock it when he came back.
"What if I would have stopped five minutes when the kids went home and took these items out of my car? There were times I had a few moments to do it. And I didn't do it. Stop, think, just take a moment for yourself," Pride said.
Still, the family is not going to let the Grinch ruin their Christmas.
"They still kept a smile on their face the whole day. They said, 'Mom, it is just material things. They didn't come in the house. They did not harm us,'" Pride said.
It's helping them focus on the finer things.
"We are still going to have a good Christmas," Pride said. "We are still going to smile at the end of the day. We are going to enjoy my son being home from college. I'm going to enjoy my four boys and that is what life is about."
Officers said they haven't been able to gather enough evidence to get a suspect yet, because the morning dew got rid of any fingerprints. But anyone who knows anything about this incident is asked to call police.
Anyone who would like to help the family, click here.