$3,000 Stolen from Water Polo Rummage Sale

About $3,000 was stolen Saturday morning from a rummage sale fundraiser sponsored by the Trabuco Hills High School water polo team, said event organizer Becky Weiskittel.

The theft, which occurred near the end of the event inside the school multipurpose room, marred many days of hard work collecting household items, sorting clothes and carrying boxes, she said.

“It was a huge effort," said Weiskittel, whose son is a sophomore on the team. "It was a lot of work, weeks and weeks and weeks of work.”

The rummage sale is the water polo team's big annual fundraising event.

Weiskittel said the bad economy had hurt donations overall, and the team of boys and girls had begun scouring garage sales on Craigslist for unsold items.

"The whole community gathered to make this a success," Weiskittel said.

But it took just a few minutes at the end of the day for someone to sneak in and take the money, she said.

There was a couple acting strangely and possibly causing a distraction, the event organizer said. She said the couple was driving a white BMW.

Police were called at 11:58 a.m. with a report of grand theft.

"Nobody was seen physically taking the money," said Lt. Jim England with the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

The rest, he said, is under investigation.

He did confirm money was stolen from the event, but said department policy forbids disclosing the amount.

Donations to the team can be mailed to:

Water Polo Endowment Fund
Trabuco Hills High School
27501 Mustang Run
Mission Viejo CA 92691

Checks can be made payable to the THHS Endowment, with "Water Polo" written in the memo.