NEVIS, Minn. — A trick-or-treating enthusiast from Nevis, Minn., said a bulk candy delivery worth over $5,000 and weighing about 100 pounds disappeared off his front steps.
For about five years, Mike Wade said he has ordered enough candy to give out “five handfuls” to each child on Halloween in this community located in Hubbard County in northern Minnesota.
On the big night, Wade said he keeps buckets and buckets of candy on hand to give to the “madhouse” of kids who descend on his house. He said if kids’ pumpkin bags are too small to carry their candy allotment, he’ll put the pumpkins in a plastic bag with the goods.
“The whole lawn and driveway and everything will be full of kids,” Wade said. “Even the high schoolers come.”
Wade, who is a veteran, said he has PTSD and struggles in crowds, so he takes medication to prepare for trick-or-treating.
“I want kids to enjoy Halloween the way that I enjoyed it when I was a kid,” Wade said.
Shannon Frazier runs a day care in Nevis and said she brings the kids she watches to Wade’s house for a “pre-Halloween” to practice trick-or-treating.
“We look forward to doing it every year,” Frazier said.
To prepare, Wade starts bulk ordering candy from retailers such as Amazon and Walmart weeks in advance.
He said his massive, missing Amazon order was supposed to arrive sometime before Oct. 11, but he had to take several day-long trips away from home.
Mike Wade shows a receipt from part of one of his Halloween candy orders showing a wide variety of sweets from Tootsie Pops to Lifesavers to Twix. (Alex Haddon / Parks Rapid Enterprise / Forum News Service)
“I thought, ‘You know, I should have gotten my candy today because they said it was coming,’” he said. “It wasn’t there and I didn’t think anything of it.”
That weekend he said he noticed an email from Amazon stating his candy had been delivered, with a picture of the boxes on his doorstep attached.
“So, I called the number and I said, ‘It says my candy’s been delivered, but I didn’t get the candy,’” Wade said. “They said, ‘Yeah, it was delivered. Because it was so much we had to send it in a special van.’”
He said the Amazon representative said the candy must have been stolen after it was delivered. Wade said he was frustrated. Amazon representatives said they couldn’t cover the cost of the delivery, he said. He reported the possible theft to UPS, who opened an investigation, but couldn’t cover the cost, he said.
Wade didn’t file a police report. Finally, his credit card company told him it would be able to refund the money, he said.
Mike Wade has about eight boxes of bulk candy stashed in his laundry room, but said he needs to order more before Halloween. (Alex Haddon / Park Rapids Enterprise / Forum News Service)
“Now, I have to wait for them to get the money into my account,” Wade said. “But I went ahead and ordered another shipment of candy already.”
On Tuesday, Oct. 16, Wade had about eight boxes filled with bags of candy stashed in his laundry room, with more on the way. He said he was pretty sure he’d be able to stock up enough mini Snickers, Butterfingers and Milky Way bars before Halloween.
Wade said it “boggled his mind” that someone would take his candy delivery.
“Everybody knows around here that I get that candy every year,” he said. “That candy is for the kids. They’re not stealing from me. They’re stealing from the kids.”
Related Articles
Cass County lawsuit alleges widespread cheating at private school
Minnesota energy assistance delayed by federal shutdown
Off-duty St. Cloud officer gravely injured in Apple Valley bus collision
Minnesota murders and assaults continued post-pandemic decrease in 2024, BCA report says
Woman who killed 2 children in Amish buggy crash is sentenced to 4 years
Leave a Reply