Farmer suggests 'pregnant thief' the culprit in ice cream, pickles and honey heist

An Aulac farmer whose farmstand was hit by at least one thief Sunday night says he might have a clue to the mastermind — a thief who is pregnant.

"They took four or five jars of pickles, they took 20 or 30 pounds of honey, they took about 40 litres of ice cream," said farmer Tom Trueman.

For Trueman, the heist brought to mind what he called the "old stereotype" about the cravings of pregnant women.

"So, we figured, you never know, there could be a pregnant thief.

"They must have a sweet tooth and looking for a little sour to go with it, I guess, a little tang. Hard to say what urge they were trying to satisfy."

Trueman, who is an eighth-generation farmer, arrived at the Trueman Blueberry Farms produce stand on Monday around 7 a.m. and soon realized there'd been a break-in.

"There was garbage over the floor and my first inclination was that we had some wildlife trying to get into the honey bee hive we have in the building," he said.

The more he inspected, the more he realized humans were the culprits.

"It was kind of funny, they were thinking ice cream and pickles," he said. "I don't know just what that means."

Beyond inventory, the store lost sound equipment, scales, the air conditioning unit, pop, jam and petty cash.

Trueman said the cost of replacing the stolen goods will run "into the several thousand dollars."

Trueman Blueberry Farms are more than blueberry producers. The Truemans also run 1,000 bee hives and an agri-tourism operation, which includes the farmstand and a sunflower maze, and U-pick fields of pumpkins, blueberries and rasberries.

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"They came right in over top of our observation beehive, so they were very fortunate," he said. "If they had knocked that off its pedestal and let the bees out, they may have got a pretty good dose of karma."

The observation is home to 8,000 to 10,000 bees.

"They were fairly close to jeopardy," he said. "They might not have known it. If those had got out they would have been a little less happy with their choices."

Despite his joking, Trueman said he has no idea who broke into the farm stand.

"I'm sure it's not too far away. Somebody not too far away from here, I would guess."

Trueman said the theft is a sure hit to the business but he'll recover.

"It's all part of being in business."

But now he'll join the 21st-century and install an alarm system, motion sensors and cameras, although the bees remain an option too, he joked.