LAKEWOOD, Colo. -- When Nick Alvey woke up early Saturday morning, he noticed a message on his cell phone indicating that his door bell camera had detected motion at 3:45 a.m.
He clicked on the video and saw two porch pirates stealing two wood carved bears from his front porch.
"My first reaction was, 'No, no, no,'" he said. "They couldn't have taken those."
Alvey raced downstairs, opened the door and saw the wooden bears were gone.
"The (porch pirates) knew exactly what they wanted," he said.
The story behind the bears
Alvey's wife, Katie McCune, said the bears more than just decor.
"The big bear was my mom's," she said. "She was very festive and dressed the bear up for every occasion."
McCune said her mom occasionally dressed the bear as Santa Claus.
On one occasion she put a happy birthday sash around the bear. During McCune's bridal shower, her mother placed a veil on the bear.
McCune's mother died in 2018 from early onset Alzheimer's.
Before she passed away, she moved into an assisted living facility and took her bear with her.
"It was right outside her door," McCune said, "That became sort of how she knew which room was hers. She said, 'I just look for the bear.'"
McCune had two smaller replicas made — one for her and one for her sister.
She said her bear was stolen, along with the one her mom had at the facility.
"There were some tears," McCune said. "Like I said, it was my mom's bear and we don't have my mom, so the sentimental things have extra meaning to us now."
The young Lakewood couple is asking for help identifying the men who took the bears. One was wearing a blue Adidas jacket with dark shorts and a ball cap. The other was wearing a red and black vertical striped soccer jersey with the number 7 on the back.
They loaded the bears into the trunk of a small gray sedan.
McCune and Alvey are asking for people to be on the lookout for the missing bears.
"We are not out for justice," she said. "We just want our bears back."
Lakewood police say they are investigating, but have not identified any suspects yet.
If you recognize the men in the photos, or know where the bears are now located, contact Lakewood police at 303-987-7111.