By The Associated Press
ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) -- A western Pennsylvania couple almost had to explain to their seven children that Santa Claus would be late on Christmas because their car - with gifts in the trunk - had been impounded.
Police in Altoona, about 80 miles east of Pittsburgh, seized Shonda and George Beck-Weatherwalk's car last week because a family friend apparently used it in a series of burglaries, the latest on Thursday, authorities said.
Deputy police Chief Mitchell Cooper said the department needed to impound the car so people could identify their stolen property.
After two days of worry, police returned the car and the gifts to the couple.
"It was my main goal to get the gifts back," said Shonda Beck-Weatherwalk. "They could have kept the car if they needed it for their investigation."
"Christmas will be a lot better than it could have been," she said.