Fairfield Teen's Make-a-Wish Foundation Gift Stolen

Thieves turned a Make-a-Wish dream into a vacation nightmare for a Fairfield family.

Alex Burdo, 18, and his father Gerry are on a bird-watching journey in Tacoma, Washington and returned from dinner Sunday night to find that their car windows were smashed and everything inside was stolen, including all of the camera equipment Alex received from the Make-a-Wish Foundation after he was diagnosed with cancer, according to FoxQ13.

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Fox reports that the camera equipment was worth $10,000. Additionally, a wallet containing $10,000 in cash that the Burdos were planning on spending on the trip was also stolen but they told Fox that the thieves can keep the cash, they just want the camera and binoculars back because of the special meaning they hold.

Gerry Burdo told Fox that some might consider bird watching to be trite, but for Alex it’s “the only thing that keeps him going.”

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Alex told Fox his interest in bird watching began when he was about 5 years old.

“I was diagnosed with cancer when I was 12 and then that hobby that had kind of been my passion in my childhood also became my salvation,” Alex said.

Despite the setback, Alex and his dad decided not to cancel the trip and continued their bird-watching journey thanks to equipment that was loaned to them by the Seattle Audubon Society, according to Fox.

Read the full report at FoxQ13 here.