Thief steals fairy lights from Albuquerque yard

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – It may be the changing season that has you wanting to revamp your yard a little, but be careful of what you put out there. 

Someone did more than just admire a families front yard display, items were taken from a front yard that has a neighborhood a little darker tonight.

“I’ve had everything away in a closet, except for the lights. So that was the only thing that brought me joy was the lights,” said Eileen Jessen. 

Jessen says her playground for fairies in her front yard is a collection that really lights up the neighborhood.

“My husband makes a joke that the planes are gonna start to land in our house because there’s so much light, because they’re also in the backyard too. So it’s a lot, it is, he’s not wrong,” said Eileen Jessen. 

But earlier this month, the fairy garden had an unwelcome visitor. Jessen’s Ring camera caught the moments someone walked into her yard, and went light shopping for free.

The video shows the motion sensor light go off, and the person walking right through the gate. 

“They’re almost like a little elf, you know, and they weren’t treacherous. Like they didn’t step on the fairy garden items, and they didn’t kick anything like my donkey,” said Jessen. 

In the video, people can see the thief walking around her tree, and grabbing all the lights they can. 

“They light up at night, they’re not that pretty in the daytime, but at night they’re kind of pretty. So they took those and as they’re walking, they are kind of lit, and my neighbor next door saw it and said ‘I thought they were carrying fire.’ I saw the video, and I’m like, ‘No, that was part of my yard,‘” said Jessen.

At one point they have to put everything down because their arms were so full. But before walking out of Jessen’s yard well lit by two handfuls of lights. 

The video shows a lit up shopping cart making its way back down the street. 

“I’m laughing now but the day that it happened I was just, I was so upset, I was so sad. Because, you know, it’s just you tried to do nice things, and you know,” Jessen said. 

Jessen says they’ve added a lock to the gate, and she wants to add even more lights now, sort of in spite. 

But this serves as a warning for anyone with yard ornaments, that some folks may do more than just admire them.