Porch pirates return WWE belt to child awaiting brain surgery and write apology letter: ‘We never wanted to steal a child’s hope’
A group of porch pirates returned a package of stolen WWE belts that were meant for a sick 5-year-old boy and wrote a heartfelt apology letter.
The belts belonged to Timmy Vick, a boy with autism from Delaware who needs surgery to remove a dangerous brain tumor.
According to the young boy’s father, Tim Sr., his son takes the wrestling belt with him everywhere and finds comfort sleeping with the accessory.
Timmy’s father reached out to Sergio Moreira, a wrestling belt artist who refurbishes WWE replica belts and offered to decorate the sick boy’s accessory free of charge.
“When [Timmy’s father] sent me a message and asked me for help, he just was hoping for a discount,” Moreira tells a local news agency.
Moreira, 50, has been restoring WWE replica belts to make them seem like the real champion belts for two years.
“I told him to just pay shipping and I would take care of the rest. I felt like it was the right thing to do for Timmy and his family. They have been through so much.”
The package with Timmy’s belts was delivered to Moreira’s home in Edgewood, Wash. on Monday.
While Moreira was awy from home, an app on his phone alerted him that two women and a driver had stolen the package from his porch.
Determined to make good on his promise for the sick boy, Moreira went to local news station KIR07 to bring attention to the story and Timmy’s illness.
“I want them to know they took hope from a 5-year-old boy who is looking forward to that item coming back to him,” Moreira told local news station KIRO7. “You stole that from him. You broke a child’s heart.”
Moreira went on television to beg with the thieves to return the package and the Edgewood Police Department also posted surveillance footage of the theft on their Facebook,
Just two days later, the thieves went to Moreira’s home to return the box with Timmy’s belts along with a emotional four-page apology letter.
“We are so sorry for taking your stuff. Never in a million years would I have expected I would have stolen from a sick five year old, I have a 6 year old myself and am ashamed of what I did.”
Homeless and addicted to drugs, the women explained that they were just “trying to make a quick dollar.” After watching the news and realising what they’ed done, the women decided to rectify the situation.
“We never wanted to steal a child’s hope,” reads the letter. “After seeing ourselves looking like low lives on the news, we have both decided to get clean and sober.”
Moreira says the women were crying and seemed very sorry when they dropped off the package at his home. He gave them a big hug and told them he didn’t plan to press charges.
With the belts returned, Moreira plans to have it delivered to its rightful owner by next week.
“Timmy is going to have a belt of a lifetime,” Moreira says.
