Around 300 pumpkins were stolen from an Ohio pumpkin patch, causing a loss of more than $6,000 for the owner.
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Terry Dunlap, 85, owns and operates Sam’s Pumpkin Patch in Pickerington.
He says that sometime over the past week or so, someone slipped into his field and stole about 300 pumpkins — his very best ones.
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These pumpkins were valued at $20 each, making them a significant part of Dunlap’s inventory, our news partners at WBNS reported.
“It hurt. I was, I was sick when I saw it,” Dunlap said. “I saw they were gone. I just almost, I got sick. I just physically, you know, it got me.”
Dunlap discovered the pumpkins were gone when he went to spray the plants and noticed the vines were knocked down.
“Somebody come back at night and went in there and got them,” he said.
The farm, named after Dunlap’s late business partner Sam Patterson, has been a staple in the community since 1988.
“I said, ‘I’ll grow them. You sell them.’ He said, ‘That’s a deal,’ and that’s the way we went,” Dunlap told WBNS. “Sam would be upset about the pumpkins being stolen, just like me.”
To prevent this from happening again, Dunlap has installed a locked gate at the field entrance.
He is also sourcing replacement pumpkins from Amish growers north of Centerburg to keep his stand stocked.
Dunlap reported the theft to the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office and is offering a reward for information leading to an arrest. He hopes that someone will notice if the stolen pumpkins appear for sale elsewhere.
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