Dear Editor,

An American wants to thank Tim Horton's employees and customers for support and help during a dramatic situation that occurred in Langley. Canadians proved themselves once again as caring and warm-hearted individuals.

All happened at 12: 30 p.m. when mother and four little kids stopped at the Tim Horton's to buy favourite meals on their way back home (300 miles south of border). It was a short week vacation, filled with lots of beautiful memories, places, and dear friends.

While waiting in the line for their order to be filled, they made a terrifying discovery: their car's keys had been stolen, and a nightmare was beginning to unfold.

They started to become agitated, asked and looked everywhere for the keys, in trash cans, counter-tops, and floors helped by Tim Horton's employees and customers.

Everyone realized the drama of the situation: a helpless, desperate mother with four kids, and their car in front of the restaurant locked with alarm on.

An old couple even stayed with them for three hours to watch the car until it was towed to a nearby dealer.

The criminal who stole the keys and remote was the very next customer in line, and he was targeting to steal the car or objects inside the car, but people there were vigilant.

I also want to appreciate people at the dealer. Though they could not make another set of keys (they couldn't retrieve information from Honda of America), they protected the car by locking the minivan between their own cars.

Mother and kids finally arrived safely home around 10 p.m. Saturday night. It was 24 hours of nightmare, but they will not forget the caring people who helped a foreign family in that stressful situation.

Oscar Torres, via email