When Christmas presents are stolen, those cases tend to hurt families more than other types of thefts, according to Kanawha Sheriff's Sgt. Brian Humphreys, the spokesman for the department.
Officers who investigate those cases sometimes are bothered by them more too.
"If your television gets stolen, that's that and you go and replace your TV," Humphreys said. "If children's gifts get stolen, it affects the whole family."
About a month ago, Kanawha County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Mike Rutherford warned that break-ins - of cars, homes and businesses - are more common this time of year. He said that some people are stealing to buy gifts for their own families, while others are stealing to support a drug habit, as is typical the rest of the year.
Humphreys noted that Christmas-related thefts may also stick out more to police, because they tend to linger in officers' minds longer.
He described a theft that happened earlier this month in which the family did get their presents replaced, although by an unlikely source - the investigating deputy.
Humphreys said that because of the victim's financial situation, she had to save for six months to purchase Christmas presents for her daughter and give her a "decent Christmas" for the first time. She was devastated after someone broke into her home and stole them all.
"She was heartbroken that her daughter didn't have the presents she'd saved up for and didn't know how to talk to her daughter about it," Humphreys said.
The deputy decided to replace the presents himself, then one of his family members volunteered to pitch in as well. The sheriff's department wouldn't have even found out if the family member hadn't told them.
Humphreys provided only limited details, saying the deputy didn't want attention.
Humphreys didn't have figures immediately available on Wednesday for whether thefts have spiked with the holidays this year, but he said most officers believe it to be true.
At least one similar case occurred this week. Granvill James Hayden Jr., 50, is charged with nighttime burglary for allegedly stealing Christmas presents from inside a South Charleston home. He allegedly stole wrapped Christmas presents from a home in the 200 block of 4th Avenue on Wednesday night.
Police responded about 8:15 p.m. to a call about a burglary in progress. Dispatch told them the alleged burglar had left the home.
The person who called 911 told police the burglar was wearing dark clothes and a dark jacket. Police then saw Hayden, wearing blue jeans, a dark hoodie and black tennis shoes, in the area of a sidewalk between a grass field beside 5th Avenue Church of God, about half a block away from the residence. Withrow was sweating as if he had just finished running, and looked apprehensive, according to the complaint.
Police saw Withrow's vehicle, a Mercury Mountaineer, about 20 yards away and could see the Christmas presents inside, according to the complaint.
In Elkins, seasonal lawn decorations have been stolen from several homes as well, according to the Associated Press. Humphreys said thefts of packages from porches also tend to spike.
"Unfortunately, this time of year, as people are delivered more packages, there's more opportunity for a criminal to steal things before they are safely inside your home," he said.
Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@wvgazettemail.com, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv, 304-348-5163 or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.