Trail of paper, ribbons and gift tags leads to burglars

COLUMBUS, Miss. - It wasn't tough for police to thwart two would-be Grinches - they just followed the telltale trail of wrapping paper.

Two unidentified boys, ages 14 and 12, were charged with burglary after they were accused of stealing Christmas presents from a family home, police said.

Authorities say Stanley Adams discovered someone had broken into his Columbus home late Friday. Two juveniles who lived nearby were suspected.

Police followed a trail of paper, ribbons and gift tags that led them to one of the boys' houses. One boy told authorities that he stole the presents. The gifts - which included an E-Z Bake oven, a set of Legos and a Pac-Man video game - were returned.

"It being Christmas and all, I took this kind of serious," officer L.C. Cockrell said. "It just didn't seem right for this family not to have their Christmas."