A wedding-day theft and a quiet recovery
Alex Morris and his fiancée, Kathryn, had planned a wedding with 260 guests in rural Washington this past Saturday. But their day almost took a different turn when an uninvited person made off with a set of Bluetooth speakers intended for the ceremony, along with gallons of alcohol and other drinks, as reported by Live 5 News WCSC and WIS10.
According to both outlets, security cameras captured a jeep on the grounds in the hours before the ceremony. It happened that several off-duty deputies were among the wedding party, and they recognized the vehicle, then went to track down the driver.
Morris told reporters that his immediate concern was keeping the incident from his bride. "Kathryn cannot know what's going on," he said. When the couple briefly crossed paths, he recalled: "And she's like, 'Are you ok?' and I said, 'Yep.' She said, 'What's going on?' I said, 'Nothing.' And I gave her a kiss and said, 'Everything is going to be ok.'"
With the ceremony set for 2 p.m., time was short. Morris described asking one of the deputies, "Hey, man. Do you think you can get those back by 2 p.m.?" The officer replied, "We're gonna try." Both reports say the recovery succeeded, and all items were returned before the ceremony began.
The wedding proceeded as planned, and Kathryn remained unaware until her new husband told her afterward. "She was just so thankful everything had panned out the way it did in the end," Morris said. He also noted that the couple exchanged vows while the suspect was read his rights, and that "by the time the cake was cut, the case was closed." Reflecting on the ordeal, he added, "It's a great story that we're going to be able to tell for years to come."
According to both outlets, officials said the suspect is a 55-year-old local man charged with second-degree theft. The reports did not name the man or provide additional details about the charge.