By many accounts, a nonprofit created nearly three decades ago to provide gifts to needy children in Bastrop has suffered a loss.

Bastrop Pink Santa’s president Patricia Stark said two volunteers took between $2,000 and $4,000 of toys this month, jeopardizing the Christmas of many needy children within the Bastrop school district.

The women accused of the theft, who are not being identified because they have not been charged with a crime, said Wednesday they have not stolen any toys and question how the organization has been run.

"I’m just very upset by all of this. It’s all false," one of the volunteers said.

Stark said the volunteers took Easy-Bake Ovens, Lego sets, drones, watches and other gifts from the organization on Dec. 15. On Wednesday, she said there may have been other possible thefts and investigators are pulling security camera footage from toy drop-off locations.

"There’s video footage. There’s a lot of evidence" Stark said. "We have statements signed by other people that are now in possession of the police department."

Bastrop police Detective Vicky Steffanic said investigators are looking into a possible internal theft at the nonprofit. She said officers were waiting on documents requested from Stark on Dec. 15 and could not comment on whether investigators have a person of interest in the case.

Stark said she and other board members are still going through their inventory and compiling a list of missing items. But despite the reported thefts, Stark said Pink Santa was able to provide gifts to 125 applicants in time for Christmas.

"It’s very rewarding that we’re able to impact their little lives," Stark said. "Christmas is about the children. It’s just nice to see their little smiles."

Pink Santa provides gifts during Christmas to needy children who live within the Bastrop school district’s boundaries. It has been operating since 1989 and is funded only by donations and fundraisers — many from local businesses, Stark said.

A big supporter of the organization, Lost Pines Toyota in Bastrop, has pulled its support of Pink Santa.

"Lost Pines Toyota recognizes the need to support underprivileged children in our local community," the car dealership said on its Facebook page. "However, in lieu of the recent events and allegations directed towards the Bastrop Pink Santa Organization, we are withdrawing any association with this organization."

The volunteers accused of theft said they delivered bagged toys to a woman who was having car trouble and had a sick child at home. The women said they called Stark several times to ask permission to deliver the toys, but she didn’t answer the phone. The women said they then called David Grassel, the board’s secretary, and he gave the OK.

When Stark found out, she called the women and accused them of stealing the toys, the volunteers said. So they brought the toys back to the warehouse, as well as the recipient, to prove they delivered the toys to the appropriate person.

Stark said both women were not allowed to bag toys and the organization doesn’t make deliveries. She said Grassel would not have approved them to do so.

"I’m the president. If I say yes, then it goes," she said.

When the women got back to the warehouse with the toys, police were present to take statements, they said.

"I’m pretty sure if we stole what she said we stole, don’t you think we would have been arrested that night?" one of the volunteers said.

Police have not made any arrests in the case, but Steffanic said it remains an open investigation.

The women accused of theft say Pink Santa should be disbanded and a new nonprofit with the same mission should be created under new leadership, as the 27-year-old organization now has a bad reputation.

Stark said she’s a good steward of the organization and cares deeply for its mission of helping children.

The volunteers and several residents on social media have pointed to Stark’s criminal record as the top disqualifier of her running the organization.

According to Bastrop County jail records, Stark has been arrested nine times for charges including assault, aggravated kidnapping, engaging in organized criminal activity and theft. Her most recent theft charge was in August.

Bastrop County criminal records show most of Stark’s charges have been dismissed. She received probation for an assault charges as well as for a harassment charge for which an arrest record does not exist.

"I am an open book," Stark said. "I provided a complete disclosure to the board before I was elected as president. They knew my past and that I haven’t been convicted."

Still, the women accused of theft said someone with an arrest record like Stark’s should not be involved with an organization that handles applications requesting people’s personal information, such as their address and driver’s license and Social Security numbers.

The Pink Santa theft is not the first involving holiday campaigns in the Austin area.

In 2013, the former manager of Austin’s Blue Santa program, then-Christmas Bureau director Shon Washington, was sentenced to four years in prison for theft. Washington pleaded guilty to theft after he was indicted on charges that he stole between $20,000 and $100,000 from the charity.

Update: This story has been edited from a previous version.