Police are seeking two men in Salvation Army kettle thefts. The man on the left is wanted in a theft in Maplewood. The one on the right in Rogers and Brooklyn Park. (Vince Tuss/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Police across the Twin Cities metro area are looking for help to find a couple of grinches who have stolen at least three Salvation Army kettles.

One happened in Maplewood, where a man walked into a Maplewood Pizza Ranch and snatched the kettle off the counter.

The theft occurred about 8:20 p.m. Sunday at the eatery at 1845 E. County Road D. A series of surveillance photos posted on the Maplewood Public Safety Facebook page shows the man apparently looking around before snatching the small red container off the counter.

Anybody with information is asked to call Maplewood police at 651-249-2600.

Another man is wanted in the theft of two kettles: One from a Cub Foods store in Rogers and another in Brooklyn Park. Police investigating the Rogers theft say Salvation Army employees told them that he appeared to be the same man who stole the Brooklyn Park kettle two days earlier.

Photos of the man, reported to be driving a blue truck, were provided. Anyone with info can call 763-428-3450.

On Dec. 4, two thieves in hooded sweatshirts stole a kettle from a Cub Foods store near Northtown Mall in Blaine. The thieves used a tool to cut a cable connecting the kettle to a stand.

Maplewood police are searching for this man who stole a Salvation Army kettle from the Pizza Ranch. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

about the writer

Tim Harlow

Reporter

Tim Harlow covers traffic and transportation issues in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and likes to get out of the office, even during rush hour. He also covers the suburbs in northern Hennepin and all of Anoka counties, plus breaking news and weather.