Thieves raid local pumpkin patch, steal about 100 pumpkins, gourds

Angi and Dave McCarty stand in what's left of their pumpkin patch in McCook. Despite electric fencing, thieves made off with about 100 pumpkins, ornamental gourds and Indian corn. (Lorri Sughroue/McCook Gazette)

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Despite electric fencing and a rural location, a couple of pumpkin burglars made off with about 100 pumpkins from the garden of Dave and Angi McCarty of McCook.

The thieves unplugged the electric fence surrounding the 35-feet long, 200-feet wide garden sometime Saturday night and made off with pumpkins of all kinds, including the gigantic "Big Mac" pumpkins, white and pink varieties, along with nearly all the ornamental gourds and Indian corn.

The worst part about it is that invitations were already sent out for the McCarty's hayrack ride and pumpkin picking party, for family and friends.

Dave discovered the nearly plundered garden on Sunday, along with three sets of footprints.

"To take one or two is one thing...but to wipe us out, that's something else," he said. Dave had spent hours on the garden, Angi said, watering, weeding and fertilizing with compost tea and fish kelp. During the summer, she and the grandkids would go out periodically on the four-wheeler, checking the progress of the pumpkins and gourds, especially the pumpkins the kids had picked out for themselves.

The 5-year old cried when she heard her pumpkin was gone, Angi said. But after she dried her tears, she told her grandma, "How rude!"

"If a 5-year-old knows it's wrong, how do grown people do it?" Angi asked.

The McCarty's are used to people coming to their garden and taking cantaloupe and watermelon, they said, as it's near the Community Garden on the other side of the road.

But this time, more than few were taken. The sheer quantity of the theft is what staggers the McCartys.

"There's no monetary value on this, that's not what it's about," Angi said. "Dave didn't grow these for a couple of hoodlums to take it all."

Dave tried to be more philosophical about it.

"If the hail doesn't get it, the bugs don't get it, then the thieves will," he shrugged.

Still, the show must go on and the hayrack ride is still scheduled.

"But like my daughter said, we may have to buy a few pumpkins for the kids," Angi added.