Rare and valuable plant stolen from shop
Ana Kilbourne was working at the store at the time of the robbery.
By Jeffrey Lindblom
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PORTLAND, Oregon (KPTV) — It’s not diamond rings, necklaces, or other jewelry this time around. Someone took something you’d naturally find on a hike — a plant was stolen.
Friday, Aug. 26, an extremely rare and valuable $500 plant was stolen from Reclamation, a plant store in Portland. Ana Kilbourne, the employee who was working at the time, says she feels taken advantage of.
“There’s nothing good that comes from stealing,” Kilbourne says. “Especially from small businesses who are barely getting by.”
She was working a busy Friday shift when three people came walking in, who “just seemed like the kind of people I’d normally talk to in the shop. I’m kind of hurt that they took advantage of me.”
She explains the group came in asking about rare plants, asking if they had “any Albo or Ti” plants. They had two of the Albo plants for sale.
It’s a rare kind of plant, even rarer to get young, as they can grow to a tremendous size. Plus, the color was white, making it even more rare.
She turned her back to help another customer, and she explains the three “came over here,” Kilbourne says pointing at a shelf in the corner of the shop, “and grabbed the plant. He pretended to show his friend, and then turned around and opened his tote bag and shoved the plant in it. They had just gone behind my back and stolen one of our most precious plants for sale.”
The shop has all kinds of plants. Most of them, Kilbourne says, range between $20 and $30. The second most expensive plant in the shop is the Philodendron “Ring of Fire,” costing about $100. The plant that was stolen was $500.
When she noticed it was missing, since the people were so nice to her, she figured she’d misplaced it.
“I even had my mom come in and look for it after we had closed,” Kilbourne says laughing, “and we couldn’t find it anywhere.”
Finally, she asked her boss to check the security cam. Sure enough, they saw it was taken.
Her response?
“Screw you,” Kilbourne says. “You guys really suck and karma’s going to get you.”
She hopes they return the plant, but she’s mostly upset about the lesson she’s learned.
“I’m learning that just because someone is nice, that doesn’t mean they have good intentions,” Kilbourne says solemnly. She says she has made lots of friends while working. “That just really sucks that I’ll have to be more aware.”
The shop claims the trio has stolen from other plant shops in the area and even in Washington, and they hope this message warns other businesses.
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