{"id":425037,"date":"2026-08-06T02:18:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T02:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/425037\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T02:18:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T02:18:08","slug":"reformed-shoplifter-makes-return-to-california-bookstore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/425037\/","title":{"rendered":"Reformed shoplifter makes return to California bookstore"},"content":{"rendered":"

A reformed shoplifter closed the book on a decades-old crime this week \u2014 returning a rare first-edition copy he stole from a Northern California bookstore 40 years ago, along with a heartfelt apology and a crisp $100 bill.<\/p>\n

The unexpected package arrived at Booklegger in Eureka\u2019s Old Town district on Monday, where owner Jennifer McFadden discovered it as she was heading out for the day.<\/p>\n

A regretful shoplifter returned a book 40 years after stealing it from a California shop, along with a surprise apology gift Instagram\/@booklegger_eureka<\/p>\n

Booklegger in Eureka, CA Suki M.\/Yelp<\/p>\n

One of the bookstore\u2019s employees convinced her that she had to open up the mail delivery before leaving, according to the Lost Coast Outpost. <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe received a small package in the mail today, and couldn\u2019t read the handwritten return address, so we had no idea if it was promotional material about a book or who knows what. In fact it contained something so unexpected and touching the three of us who were working ended up with tears in our eyes,\u201d owner Jennifer McFadden posted on Facebook. <\/a><\/p>\n

The long-overdue return left the bookstore staff stunned.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaking up for a past wrong, no matter how belatedly, takes courage. Yes, people make mistakes, but the ways the people show us the good of humanity are far more numerous,\u201d she continued. <\/p>\n

An apology note was sent alongside the book Instagram\/@booklegger_eureka<\/p>\n

The apology letter explained how the man was formerly a student at \u201cHSU with a horrible drug and alcohol problem\u201d and that he desperately needed money. After much change, he proceeded to live a better life and came across this book while cleaning out the garage. <\/p>\n

The bookstore was founded in 1982 Google<\/p>\n

The book was a first-edition 1953 copy of \u201cThe Unstrung Harp\u201d by Edward Gorey, who is an American author and a Tony Award-winning costume designer. <\/p>\n

Booklegger\u2019s staff priced \u201cThe Unstrung Harp\u201d at $125, but the owner said that the gesture was worth far more. She also plans on texting the man to thank him and to tell him to feel unburdened.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A reformed shoplifter closed the book on a decades-old crime this week \u2014 returning a rare first-edition copy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":425038,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[24264,169470,7,9,8,4182,266,1699,3586],"class_list":["post-425037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-book","tag-booksellers","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-metro","tag-northern-california","tag-shoplifting","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425037"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425037\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/425038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}