Camping gear was stolen from two troops of Boy Scouts just before the troops' annual trip scheduled for Thursday.
The Boy Scouts hold a winter camp out for five days near Athens every year for hundreds of members.
Troops 914 and 467 stored their gear in a trailer, behind a St. Luke Community United Methodist Church Children and Youth Center in Dallas - before it was stolen.
“We had sleeping bags from this wall all the way over; and we had tents,” said eagle scout Trey Scott.
The troops opened the trailer Sunday morning and discovered all the gear was gone.
“I thought Christmas was the spirit of giving," Scott said. "Obviously this is a tough time for a lot of people."
The latch of the trailer where troops 914 and 467 had their geared stored was broken.
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Leaders and parents are now trying to replace what was taken two days before Christmas.
This year they have added another troop, so right now it’s double the kids with half the equipment.
“This is not a Christmas present this is a hardship. The boys are looking for an experience where they are going to learn,” said parent Cliff Caldwell.
Caldwell says they will make it happen.
"If they had just asked we would have given it to them,” Scott said.
The troops plan to take inventory of all items stolen from the trailer and file a police report.
