Thief swipes Camp Fire candy money from girl, 11

MILL CREEK — For the past four years, 11-year-old Nattalie Anderson has sold enough candy to pay for her summer camp.

Nattalie was the top seller for Camp Fire in Snohomish County in 2013 and 2014. She was working this year’s fundraiser on Wednesday when a stranger approached and pretended to inspect the candy.

“He asked what kind of candy we were selling,” Nattalie said. “I was telling him what kinds we had and then he stole the cash box and the troop money.

“I was scared,” she said. “It was surprising.”

About $85 was taken, said Nattalie’s stepmother, Maria Anderson, 31.

She and Nattalie had set up outside the Mill Creek Safeway just a half-hour before the theft.

The man, wearing a chartreuse sweatshirt, had ignored them when he walked into the store, she said. When he came back out, he grabbed the money and ran.

Maria Anderson chased after him to see if she could get a description on his car.

“By the time I got to the corner, he was gone,” she said.

On Thursday, store staff were looking for surveillance video to see if they had any images of the suspect’s face, Anderson said.

Nattalie’s in the sixth grade at Riverview Elementary in Snohomish. She’s an outspoken, active kid who likes adventure and plays the clarinet, Anderson said.

“She does Camp Fire so she can go to camp every year because she likes to hang out with all the other kids,” she said. “It’s her little summertime thing.”

Nattalie has to sell more than 1,300 boxes of candy — roughly 88 cases — to pay for a week of horsemanship lessons at Camp Killoqua near Lake Goodwin.

Her annual record is 1,311 boxes, said Meagan Farrell, candy sales coordinator for Camp Fire’s local office. In a Camp Fire news release earlier this week, Nattalie was quoted as saying, “The best way to be a successful seller is to work hard, focus, be creative, honest, and smile.”

Nattalie’s favorite of the candies are the mints. Her dad, Tyson, likes the Almond Roca.

Nattalie’s parents used to handle the cash box but she took over as she grew older and learned to make change. The adults always stay close, though.

When Anderson got back to the candy stand after chasing the suspect, she and Nattalie realized that without the cash box, they’d have to pack up for the day.

They filed a police report and are hopeful the store’s surveillance footage might show the man’s face, though he pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt during the crime.

What happened still is sinking in, Anderson said, but Nattalie was disappointed that she didn’t meet her daily target of 60 boxes.

Nattalie plans to continue her work outside the Tulalip Walmart from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday. The Camp Fire candy sale runs until Feb. 16.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

The Washington State University Snohomish County Extension building at McCollum Park is located in an area Snohomish County is considering for the location of the Farm and Food Center on Thursday, March 28, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Year-round indoor farmers market inches closer to reality near Mill Creek

The Snohomish County Farm and Food Center received $5 million in federal funding. The county hopes to begin building in 2026.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.