Free, eh? Canadians who took donated toys from Pirate Toy Fund thought they were free

Ryan Miller | Democrat and Chronicle

The missing Pirate Toy Fund donations didn't quite make it to the North Pole. They got exported north of the border.

Police said the couple who took the toys from the box at Eastview Mall and drove them back home to Ottawa thought they were free. Not duty free, just plain old free.

Oh, Canada.

On Sunday, two people were caught on surveillance cameras stocking up on holiday toys from the donation box and stuffing them into shopping bags inside the mall. They loaded the toys into a rented SUV owned by an agency in Ottawa, Canada.

The Pirate pirates won't have a "wrap" sheet.

The Ontario County Sheriff's Office worked with the Ottawa Police Department to speak to the people when they returned the vehicle. Police didn't say if the couple declared the "gifts" at customs but they declared their innocence during questioning.

"It was determined that the subjects involved had thought that the donation box that was located in Eastview Mall was offering free toys, that is why they took them," Ontario County Sheriff Kevin Henderson said.

The family was extremely apologetic regarding the incident, according to police.

The people agreed to make a monetary donation to the toy drive to settle the loonie situation.

In the spirit of the season, representatives from the Pirate Toy Drive did not want to press charges.

The Pirate Toy Fund was founded in 1995 by children's entertainer Gary the Happy Pirate. It supplies toys to more than 100 local agencies. Nearly 22,000 toys were donated this week for its holiday drive and they will be given to children in need in greater Rochester. It has distributed more than 250,000 toys over the last 25 years.

Drop-off boxes are located at Strong Museum of Play, Bill Gray's Regional Iceplex, Eastview Mall, the Greece Town Hall and local Wegmans stores.