Donation for veterans group goes missing from driveway

A Newport Beach resident reported Tuesday that a large charitable donation, intended for a Vietnam veterans support group, disappeared from her driveway in an apparent theft.

Shelli Zeller, who lives in the neighborhood surrounding Newport Harbor High School, left about 40 items, including clothing and bath supplies, to be picked up by Vietnam Veterans of America. She left the items in the driveway Tuesday morning around 7:30 a.m. and left on an errand around 10:30.

When Zeller returned shortly before noon, the supplies were gone, but no note or card had been left to indicate a pickup. Then, she said, a driver for Vietnam Veterans of America arrived at her property to collect the donation.

“I said, ‘You guys haven’t been here?’” Zeller recalled. “And he said, ‘No, no, no.’”

Zeller said she had not contacted the Newport Beach Police Department about the missing items. Jennifer Manzella, a spokeswoman for the department, said police had gotten no calls about similar incidents in the neighborhood Tuesday.

She noted, however, that incidents like Zeller’s were fairly common — albeit on a smaller scale.

“There are a lot of package thefts,” she said. “That’s on the rise here in Newport Beach and everywhere else. It’s not specific to our community. We’ve been doing a lot of community outreach about package theft.”

However, Manzella added, “This is the first I’ve heard about a charitable donation being taken.”

Zeller said the items, which came from her and her husband’s belongings, had been left in plastic bags in the driveway. Anyone with information about the incident may contact the police at (949) 644-3681.