'I stood there flabbergasted': Man allegedly steals books from Little Free Library

The only book not stolen from Heather Teahan'sLittle Free Library was one with a damaged cover.

On Tuesday afternoon, spending time with her family, Teahan's father noticed someoneappeared to be emptying the Little Free Library outside her home.Teahan said she made her way to the porch to find out what was going on.

To her surprise, she saw a man removing books and placing them into what looked like a big black tote bag.

"I said, 'Are you taking all those books?' and he said 'Yeah, I'm bringing them home,'" said Teahan.

Teahan asked the man if he planned on bringing them back, but couldn't hear his response as he left.

"Then he turned, walked away and got into his car and drove off," said Teahan. "I was in shock."

Teahan said she wished she could've told him that people were only allowed to take one book per person, but she was too shocked to move.

"I stood there flabbergasted, because I couldn't believe he took all of the books," said Teahan, who has operated her Little Free Library in south Walkerville for about four years.

The library eventually grew into a spot where book lovers of all ages and preferences were able to find something to read.

"They were beautiful books, all fresh," said Teahan about the stolen stock. Teahan's family kept new books in the library on a regular basis and even added a lower shelf when they realized children couldn't reach the main box.

According to Teahan, there were approximately 40 books in the library at the time of the theft.

"I can only assume he's selling them," said Teahan, who has decided to close her Little Free Library for now.

Teahan said she spent much of Tuesday evening upset that anyone would steal so many books.

We decided just to temporarily close it," said Teahan. "We decided to close it and just think of some options we can do to prevent all the books from being taken out at once."