He thought his garden gnomes were stolen. They were returned in better shape than ever

As It Happens8:01He thought his garden gnomes were stolen. They were returned in better shape than ever

Kelly Blair thought he would never see his garden gnomes again. They disappeared from his yard in Kelowna, B.C., not long after he hosted a yard sale last month. 

But last week he got a knock at the door from a "lovely older lady," who handed him a note. 

"The envelope said 'homeowner' on the front and inside was a photocopy cut-out of a gnome on the back. It simply said 'the Gnome Restoration Society' and that was it," Blair told As It Happens guest host Peter Armstrong. 

Then the lady asked him to follow her to her car. 

"She had, obviously, no threatening manner about her. So I, of course, followed her to her car," said Blair.

There, sitting in the trunk of her sedan, were his garden gnomes.

"All of a sudden there's this huge splash of colour and there's all my gnomes back. In fact, there were two more than were taken."

Gone missing

Because he'd actually planned to give the gnomes away as part of an effort to declutter ahead of a move, Blair said he only discovered the disappearance when he went into his backyard two weeks ago to snap a couple pictures of them.

But when he got outside, there was only one, lonely garden gnome left.  

At first he thought nothing of it. His canoe and some tools had been stolen following a garage sale just a few weeks earlier. He figured they must've been taken at the same time.

"I had no reason at that point to think I'd been robbed twice, per se. So I just made a very quick presumption," said Blair.

But now he doubts there's a connection. 

"Unless my canoe comes back with a fresh paint job, I don't believe the two are related," Blair said with a laugh.

Who's behind the Gnome Restoration Society?

Blair said he's impressed with the quality of the work on his made-over gnome gang, adding that the eye for detail is incredible. 

"One big guy with the pipe … they made sure that the ash in his pipe was a grey tone," said Blair.

Blair said he doesn't fancy himself a sleuth, so he didn't ask many questions of the lady who had delivered the gnomes. But she did give a small clue. 

The woman told him "they were mostly retired people who did this, and they wished to remain anonymous," he said. 

Blair said he believes there has to be at least a few people in the group, as his eight gnomes would've been hard to move solo.

And he said he's not offended that this secret group snuck into his garden and took his stuff. 

"There was never any ill intent here. So no, I would have no problem with that. They didn't open a gate; they didn't jimmy a lock; they didn't do anything," said Blair. 

Though they came close to hitting his giveaway pile, Blair said he now plans to keep the gnomes, since the mystery has earned them a special place in the yard at his new place.

"Thank you to the Gnome Restoration Society people, whoever you are, wherever you are."