The Grinch delivering presents.

MOULTRIE — The morning of December 22, the day of Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office’s Jingle Ball Bash, authorities arrived to find their Christmas plans dashed.

Every pop gun, bicycle, roller blade and drum. Checkerboard, tricycle, popcorn and plum, was missing … presumed stolen. Not a thing could be done.

Nothing was left, not even a crumb.

“To locate the culprit, we had to be quick,” said CCSO Corporal Anthony Tripp. “Recovering those presents was our highest task. We had to save Christmas, and save Christmas fast.”

They spotted the thief in a red pickup truck, the bed overloaded with sacks full of stuff. Piled to the sky they shimmied and swayed. The thief smiled smugly; he had gotten away.

Little did he know, all those ribbons and wrappings, sleigh bells and tinsel, trimmings and trappings, would soon alert others of his toy kidnappings.

“Call after call rang into our desk. People had seen his red cap and his vest. But even with all of those wonderful tips, his face and his fingers are what got him,” said Tripp.

“His skin was all green like fuzzy old mold, with wrinkles and crow’s feet that made him look old. His thin lips were curled up in a devilish grin. His fingers were long, and creepy, and slim.”

“Our squad apprehended him right at the border. We cuffed and arrested the Christmas toy hoarder. His name is the Grinch. His age, 53. His shoes were too small, and his fur filled with fleas.”

The Grinch told authorities he lived on Mount Crumpit, and had hoped to watch Moultrie’s Christmas joy plummet, when all of the toys and all of the socks, went missing and left all the townspeople shocked.

“I attempted,” said Tripp “to make him see reason, but his only reply was ‘I hate Christmas season.’ So we’ve charged him with theft and left him in holding. Tried yelling, and screaming, cajoling, and scolding.

“At long last,” said Tripp, “the thing that seemed right, was making him fix what he’d done Christmas night. His sentence was to give all the gifts he had knicked, personally, himself, to the kids he had tricked.”

Grinchy frown, and his head screwed on wrong, the Grinch went door-to-door all morning long. But with every gift given he noticed a change. It started off small, and felt kind of strange. It felt good and warm, like grandma’s hot chocolate. He resisted at first, but just couldn’t stop it. His deep-frozen frown slowly melted away, and his undersized heart grew three sizes that day.

“We hope he’s reformed,” said Tripp. “It’s deserving. We knew the best way to feel Christmas was serving. Will he strike again next year? Has he changed? Who can say? But for now all is right. Have a blessed Christmas day.”

Jingle Ball Bash

Each year the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office collects toys to give to needy children in Colquitt County. This year, one of the officers donned a Grinch costume to add some color to the distribution. Reporter Jessi Flowers and Cpl. Anthony Tripp offered this light-hearted look at the event.