Someone stole this family's Humboldt tribute hockey sticks, so they put out 3 more

When Pat Lacy woke up Tuesday morning to an empty front porch in Wallaceburg, Ont. his first thought was to call his father-in-law. 

Four hockey sticks the family left out to honour the lives lost in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash were missing. 

"I asked him if maybe he put them inside or something after we went to bed," said Lacy. "Nope, he didn't do it."

Lacy believes someone stole the sticks — something he describes as the "lowest" thing someone could do.

'Is this real?'

He said the idea of someone stealing sticks, which were set out as part of a country wide-movement to memorialize the members of the Broncos organization, left him in disbelief.

 "I just kept thinking 'Is this real? Did someone really take those?'" asked Lacy. 

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Lacy said even thought the sticks went missing, his family plans to put more out on the porch because of what they represent.

"We talked as a family after school today and said, 'You know what? We're still going to put out two tonight,'" said Lacy, who posted a picture of three new sticks on their porch Tuesday night.  

"Everyone needs to stand united and let people know that we're all human. Compassion is key."

Lessons learned

That compassion was on display when Lacy wrote out the messages he wanted to send to whoever stole the sticks. 

"People make mistakes. To that person out there that took them ... you can always put them back," said Lacy. 

If the person who swiped the sticks really needed them, Lacy said it would have only taken a simple conversation for him to part ways with the sticks. 

"I wish you would have just come and would have asked."