Hundreds of frozen turkeys meant for giveaway stolen in California – NBC Los Angeles

A box truck with hundreds of frozen turkeys that were to be used in a holiday giveaway was stolen in Southern California, officials said.

The truck has not been recovered, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Tuesday that did not identify any possible suspects.

The sheriff’s office said deputies learned of the incident shortly before 8 a.m. Sunday when they responded to a report of the stolen truck in Lake Elsinore, a city of roughly 73,000 southeast of Los Angeles.

Deputies searched for the truck but were unable to find it, the sheriff’s office said.

Alexxa Oliver, founder of Lake Elsinore-based nonprofit U.R. Important, told CBS Los Angeles that the truck contained turkeys for a Thanksgiving giveaway.

In a video statement on its Facebook page, Oliver said she wasn’t sure when the theft occurred. She said the group had intended to distribute the nearly 500 turkeys that were taken on Sunday.

“We want to apologize to all of the families who are going to be hit by this,” she said.

Fire departments say that forgetting to thoroughly thaw your Thanksgiving turkey before putting it in the deep fryer could have explosive results.