Northern Ontario porch pirate steals grocery delivery from family in quarantine

In the age of doorstep deliveries, porch pirates who steal items from front doors have become common, but one North Bay mom says she was scared by a recent encounter with one.

It happened in the West Ferris area of North Bay around 11 a.m. Thursday, Devyn Crocker told CTV News.

Crocker and her children are quarantined at home after contracting COVID-19.

She said it was "very creepy" to find a stranger standing on her doorstep eating her strawberries when she went to retrieve her online grocery order Thursday morning.

"When I opened the door, he had zero reaction. When I told him to leave my property, he just kept mumbling gibberish," Crocker said on social media.

When he refused to leave after several requests, she said took out her phone and started recording a video of the incident "out of fear."

The video she posted captured the person mumbling something about "stolen property" before picking up a bag of groceries and walking away without a backwards glance.

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With kids at home, she said the encounter was scary and is warning others to keep an eye out.

"Things seem to be getting more scary out in the world. Unbelievable," Crocker said.

The video she posted online has more than 5,200 views in less than 24 hours.

North Bay police confirm an investigation into the theft is open and anyone with information is encouraged to call police or Crime Stoppers.

"A suspect will hopefully be identified shortly," said Acting Sgt. Douglas MacIntosh.

Incidents of porch pirating are increasing slowly due to a spike in online deliveries which started during the pandemic, police said.

"A lot of commercial carriers have online accounts and you can have an option where instead of just leaving the package unattended at the front door, where it's visible, you can have it delivered to the back door or behind a gate," MacIntosh said.

By taking the opportunity for theft away, your goods will be more protected, he said.

"You can also accept the signature delivery option, so that way, the recipient is there to receive it and sign for it," Macintosh said.

Anyone who orders high-end goods such as jewelry, electronics or auto parts, for example, to consider having them shipped to the post office or at a commercial carrier and held for pickup, he recommended.

Police continue to encourage the reporting of all thefts so they can properly investigate.