CAPE CORAL, Fla. — A Cape Coral family faced a startling wake-up call when their Jet Ski disappeared from the driveway early Friday morning, just three days before Christmas.

According to Antoinette Vandenberg, the unsettling incident occurred Friday morning at 3:45 a.m.

“We were awakened by our neighbor,” Vandenberg said. “She was ringing our doorbell knocking. She was actually on the phone with 911 at the time, and she’s like, ‘I just witnessed your Jet Ski being stolen out of your driveway.’”

Despite the family’s efforts to secure their property with several cameras, Vandenberg said she was surprised at the thief’s ability to evade their security measures.

“We have landscape plates, outdoor lights were very well lit. And we even had, like I said, two locks on there to help try and prevent anything like this from happening. So, for someone to be able to do this within such a short amount of time and get away is just mind-boggling,” Vandenberg said.

Vandenberg said she was heartbroken and highlighted the sentimental value of the stolen Jet Ski, which had been a source of family bonding for years.

“My daughter is, she’s in the military. And when she comes home to visit, we can put three of us on there. So, we all go out together, and we just enjoy it,” said Vandenberg. “It’s just one of those things where you can go out and just enjoy nature, enjoy family, enjoy the time that you do get.”

Unfortunately, Vandenberg says the person who stole her Jet Ski is still on the loose.

“[I hope] they understand that you’re not just taking an item, you’re affecting an entire family and people’s, you know, livelihoods what they’ve worked so hard for,” she said.

Although this happened days before Christmas, Vandenberg remains resilient, refusing to let the incident overshadow the holiday spirit.

“Even though this has happened, it does not affect, like our giving and our Christmas spirit. I always have always loved Christmas. And I’m not gonna let whoever did this. Take that away from us,” she said.