A simple misunderstanding: Sturtevant family will have their basketball hoop returned



STURTEVANT (WITI) -- FOX6 News has learned a Sturtevant family may soon have their "stolen" basketball hoop returned to them.

Heidi Thomas thought someone stole her son's basketball hoop from her yard -- but as it turns out, that's not what happened.

Thomas says her husband came outside on Wednesday morning, May 15th and noticed the basketball hoop was missing!

"He was upset, but he was just like, 'Oh! Someone stole it!'" Thomas said.

A neighbor boy's amateur recording system showed two men with a young boy loading the hoop onto a trailer on Tuesday afternoon.

"If you watch it, it doesn't look like they meant to steal it. It looks like they thought, maybe, we were getting rid of it," Thomas said.

Sturtevant Police Captain speculated earlier Thursday that it could be a simple misunderstanding.

"Somebody thought that this was garbage -- waiting to be picked up by the garbage men," Sturtevant Police Captain Timothy O'Neil said.

Thomas told FOX6 News earlier Thursday the backboard had been missing its hoop -- saying she'd understand if someone mistook the treasure for trash.

"If somebody thought it was garbage, you know, or that we were getting rid of it, that would've been the time to take it," Thomas said.

As it turns out -- that's exactly what happened!

After FOX6 News aired the story earlier Thursday, the guys seen in the video loading up the hoop called Thomas.

They confirmed that they thought the hoop was meant for the trash -- and promised to return it on Friday.