Wedding Thief Busted Just Hours Before Bride Walked Down the Aisle

A Washington groom was hit with a wedding-day nightmare just hours before saying “I do” — but he kept the entire thing secret from his bride while his groomsmen and local deputies scrambled to catch the alleged thief.

Alex Morris was preparing to marry Kathryn Morris at Worthington Park in Quilcene, Washington, on Aug. 15 when he learned that several important wedding items had vanished.

The discovery came around 11 a.m., roughly three hours before the ceremony.

His DJ called with bad news: the Bluetooth speakers needed for the ceremony were gone.

Then Morris started looking around and realized even more had disappeared.

Cases of Capri Sun, soda, beer, seltzer and water had allegedly been taken, along with several bottles of cranberry juice.

But Morris had one major rule.

Kathryn could not find out.

“I told all of the groomsmen and all of the rest of the people that were there helping out, ‘Do not let Kathryn know about this,’” Morris told PEOPLE.

He said he didn’t want his bride worrying about stolen supplies on what was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life.

Luckily, Morris had some well-connected friends standing beside him.

Several of his groomsmen worked in law enforcement, including Jefferson County Undersheriff Brandon Przygocki.

Przygocki said the groom made it very clear that the bride was to be kept in the dark.

“We were like, ‘Yep, nope, we got it. We won’t say anything. We’ll just keep working,’” he recalled.

While wedding preparations continued, the groomsmen quietly switched into investigation mode.

Przygocki contacted an on-duty supervisor and had a deputy sent to the venue to take a report.

Another groomsman began searching the property for clues, including footprints and tire tracks.

Then they spotted surveillance cameras.

Video from the property allegedly showed a suspicious vehicle arriving during the early morning hours.

Later, a man could reportedly be seen using a wheelbarrow to move items into the vehicle.

That was apparently all investigators needed.

Morris said deputies immediately recognized the vehicle because the area is small and authorities were already familiar with certain people in the community.

The suspect was identified by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office as Russell Kullander.

He was charged with second-degree theft and second-degree criminal trespass.

Deputy Kyle Pernsteiner went to the suspect’s residence and recovered the stolen property just in time for the wedding.

“The wedding was saved!” Przygocki said.

Morris said having his friends jump into action meant a great deal to him.

“Just knowing that those guys had my back and were willing to go the extra mile to make sure our day went well really meant a lot to me,” he said.

The ceremony went forward with nearly 300 guests, and Kathryn still had no idea what had happened.

At one point before the ceremony, however, she noticed something seemed off.

Kathryn asked her future husband what was going on.

He refused to crack.

Morris told her everything was fine, gave her a hug and kiss and walked away.

She apparently assumed he was simply nervous about the wedding.

The truth finally came out later during the reception when bridesmaids told her what had happened.

According to Morris, Kathryn’s “jaw just dropped to the floor.”

She was stunned not only that wedding supplies had been stolen, but that her husband, his groomsmen and deputies had managed to recover everything without her knowing.

“She was super, super thankful to the sheriff’s office and everybody involved,” Morris said.

The rest of the celebration went off without another problem.

Przygocki said the bizarre incident has now become one unforgettable wedding story.

“It was kind of surreal,” he said. “Being there as a groomsman, but also as a law enforcement officer. Like, wow, that actually happened.”