Police have brought the warm fuzzies back to Mercy Hospice after a beloved quilt was taken at the end of last month.

The bespoke quilt, hand-stitched with love, meaning and symbolism, was presented to Mercy Hospice in late May as part of a raffle to raise money for the worthy cause.

Sadly, Sergeant Lindsey Dawson, from Newmarket’s Community Policing Team, says a report was made to Police on Friday 31 May after it was found to be missing from the Remuera store.

“We were disappointed to hear the quilt, which is part of a wider fundraising raising money for cancer, was allegedly taken.

“On speaking to staff, we learned the quilt travels between different stores across Tāmaki Makaurau as part of the fundraiser, and was being proudly displayed at the Remuera store when it was allegedly stolen.”

Police investigating the incident identified a person of interest on available CCTV footage and after a collaborative effort with partner agencies, subsequently executed a search warrant on Wednesday evening at an address of interest.

“Police located a person of interest at a Māngere Bridge address, who admitted to taking the quilt,” Sergeant Dawson says.

A 73-year-old woman has since been trespassed in relation to this incident and appropriate referrals have been made given her circumstances.

Today, Police were pleased to hand the quilt back over to the Remuera Mercy Hospice where it is again proudly on display.

“We are delighted to be able to reunite Mercy Hospice with this special item and hope that at least this story might prompt some further interest in visiting it in person in store,” Sergeant Dawson says.

“Police are committed to working with our communities to deter any type of incident, which may bring harm to others, and we know how devastating this type of crime can be.”

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