Porch pirate stole gifts meant for breast cancer patient, Arizona woman says

PHOENIX - Porch pirates are nothing new, but one incident that happened at a north Phoenix neighborhood has a rather personal impact for the victim.

The homeowner affected said several items have been taken over the last few weeks, but one particular incident involved gifts meant to help a woman through a big surgery.

"It felt like an invasion of privacy," said Amy Boots.

Boots, who bought the now-stolen items, says they were worth about $90, but for her friend who is battling cancer, it was worth a whole lot more than that.

"It was for a woman that I work with who just got diagnosed with breast cancer," said Boots. "It was delivered on Monday. My husband was at work, I was on call. The next morning, we looked and saw that it had been stolen. I think I was more upset because it was a gift for someone. I thought it was gonna make her feel better when she started treatment on Friday."

Boots says the gifts include a mastectomy pillow, and socks.

"There was another one that was a mosaic cross that has a nice saying about courage and being broken, and a blanket that had some nice saying about breast cancer," said Boots.

The thief's act was caught on Boots's surveillance camera on Monday. So far, they haven't been able to nail down any leads, and Boots wants people to think twice before stealing a package, because while the gifts were relatively inexpensive, they can make the world of difference for someone battling cancer.

"When you take something from someone, you're taking not only the item, but also the thought that went behind it, so it means a lot more than the value that we spend on it," said Boots.

Boots says Amazon is sending a replacement package, so she's hoping to give it to her co-worker next week.