Samaritan to pay for stolen cookies

ST. PAUL, Minn., April 3 (UPI) -- A Minnesota Realtor has committed a random act of kindness -- he decided to pay for nearly $1,000 worth of stolen Girl Scout cookies.

Keith Keeley, owner of the real estate company Keeley Properties in Stillwater, read about the theft of 252 boxes of cookies and $90 in cash from the same Girl Scout troop his granddaughter once belonged to, the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Express reported.

"I felt so sorry, reading about it. It touched my heart," Keeley said. "It ruined those kids' dreams."

The cookies and cash were stolen from a van belonging to Kathi Eastlund on Feb. 18, while her daughter Sara, and other Girl Scouts were attending a movie before launching their day of cookie sales in the parking lot of the Woodbury 10 Theatre.

"Wow, are you kidding?" Eastlund said when she heard the news.

Keely plans to take his granddaughter, Abbey Mears, with him when he drops off the check. She is a former member of the Girl Scout troop.