Vandal Destroys Cerritos Family's Beloved Snowman Yard Ornament

A couple and their three children were left heartbroken Thursday night when they discovered that someone destroyed the unique snowman yard ornament that once lit up the front of their Cerritos home.

The candy cane-toting snowman along with other holiday decor had been in front of the Kay Avenue residence since Thanksgiving weekend -- the same weekend the family moved to the city.

"Our snowman was on our lawn, secured with four stakes and four tie lines with additional lawn stakes," Renea Orr told Patch. But the large-sized snowman not only offered a festive touch during daylight, his true appeal sparkled when he would "turn on at dusk every night."

"Several neighbors came to tell me that they liked him and had not seen anything like it before," Orr added.

But on Thursday evening, while the family was busy baking cookies, someone tampered with the their beloved holiday lawn fixture -- a sad discovery that was made about 9:30 p.m. Dec. 20.

"My daughter was coming home after the movies and saw him in a pile on the lawn but his light was still on so she asked me to come look," Orr said. "It appears that some one tried to take his candy cane. It was ripped off, all the stakes were strewn across the lawn and the cords were pulled toward the street."

Orr said there was also a large in the area that once held the candy cane, which was found on the ground near the sidewalk. Because the snowman was so badly damaged, the family had no choice but to throw it away.  

"We had the snowman for about five years," the mother of three said. "I am very disappointed and the kids are really sad, our son watches the snowman 'wake up everyday'."

After living in Lakewood for more than a decade, Orr and her husband decided to move to Cerritos with the belief they were moving into a better area -- but after what happened last night, they're feeling both frustrated and sad. 

"We lived in Lakewood for 13 years and never had any decorations stolen or damaged," she said. "We moved here thinking it was a better area, now I am really worried me made a mistake."