‘It Makes You Sick’: Someone Somehow Made Off With Roughly 200 Christmas Trees

A Northeast Ohio nursery says roughly 200 Christmas trees vanished sometime the weekend before Thanksgiving, and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after staff discovered the heist Monday morning.

The thieves cleaned out cut-and-bundled trees — mostly 7- to 9-foot Fraser firs — from a loaded truck and the surrounding yard at Smith Evergreen Nursery, moving the vehicle and taking the key, owner Ian Smith told News 5 Cleveland. The family estimates the hit at $8,000 to $10,000 wholesale and potentially double at retail, and is offering a $500 reward for tips. (RELATED: White House Unveils Dazzling 2025 Christmas Theme)

“It makes you sick,” Smith said. “It hurts. It’s hard not to take it personally.”

Deputy Erik Licht called the case an anomaly in the rural county. “Usually, it’s ATVs. Side-by-sides. Chainsaws. Things like that get stolen. This is the first time I’ve ever taken a report for cut pine trees,” he told the outlet, adding there are potential leads and asking the public to contact the sheriff’s office.

The family believes the theft happened late Saturday, Nov. 22, or early Sunday, Nov. 23, and says cameras on the lot didn’t capture it; they’ve since repositioned them to eliminate blind spots, the outlet reported. Employees scrambled to cut fresh trees to fill orders for garden centers, a church and a Boy Scout troop in Cincinnati, Smith said.

A separate report from the Canton Repository put the number closer to 150 and pegged the average wholesale value at $65 a tree, citing Smith.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office.