What started out as a weekly grocery shopping trip to Owen's last week for Bob Gephart turned into discovering two people who were impersonating as Salvation Army bell ringers.
Gephart said he entered Owen's, 302 W. Market St., last Thursday at approximately 1:30 p.m. to purchase groceries.When he entered the store, there was a man and a woman ringing Salvation Army bells.
The odd thing was that the bell ringers were standing next to a red plastic bucket that said "Ace Hardware" on the outside that was hanging on the Salvation Army's kettle stand.
The bucket was uncovered with no slot. The red kettles the Salvation Army uses for its collection efforts are metal, and have a lid with a small slot to put money in and are locked onto the kettle stand.
Gephart, who has been a Salvation Army advisory board member since the 1970s, entered the store thinking maybe the Salvation Army changed its kettle deposit containers.
However, when he got done with his shopping he saw the man and woman were inside the Owen's entrance bent down counting the money.
"I didn't want to cause a scene because I wasn't sure if they might have been volunteers counting the funds," Gephart said.
By the time Gephart went outside to go to his vehicle, the man and woman had left with the money and red plastic bucket.
Gephart told his wife Ann, who serves as the Salvation Army's Women's Auxiliary treasurer, once he got home about the incident.
She called Salvation Army Captains Dale and Sandra Brandenburg to inform them of the incident.
"This is a busy time for the Salvation Army and it's disappointing people would take advantage of the bell ringing funds and takes away from those who need the funds most," Gephart said.
Dale filed a police report Friday afternoon, and said it was unknown how much money the man and woman stole, and they have not been identified.
He keeps a list of bell ringer volunteers scheduled, and there was not anyone scheduled to ring the Thursday the funds were stolen and taken from the red plastic bucket by the man and woman.
"This incident could mean the man and woman needed the money for family bills or looked at it as an opportunity to get free money," Brandenburg said.
Dale wants to make sure those who donate to the kettle efforts put donations in the red metal can with a lid that is locked to the kettle stand.
Other than Thursday's incident, Brandenburg said bell ringing efforts are going well.
Volunteers have rang bells since Nov. 27 and the efforts will end this Thursday.
Volunteers will be today and Wednesday at Owen's, 2211 E. Center St., Marsh, Big R, Kmart, Wal-Mart and JcPenneys from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
On Thursday, bell ringers will be at Kmart from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; JcPenneys from 1 to 3 p.m. and at Big R and Wal-Mart from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and at Owen's, 2211 E. Center St., from 2 to 4 p.m.
