Sister Can't Stop Stealing Things During Visits
Dear Abby | October 18th, 2025 | Letter 1 of 2
DEAR ABBY: I'm having a problem with my sister, who visits me on the average of once a month. She lives four hours away. Her friend and her husband accompany her. They are my only company. I used to enjoy them but no longer. After their visits, stuff is always missing from my house -- a hairbrush, my dog's electric nail file, random dishes and plates, rat traps, laundry detergent packets, dollar store craft items, etc. Abby, I hid the laundry detergent packets, but she found them, and I knew she took them. When I confronted her, she angrily denied it and insisted I was accusing her of things she never did and would never do. When I told her about the beads, she said she never saw them and didn't know what I was talking about. After that, I didn't see her for about three months. We made up, and she did it again! Her husband knows. I set a trap for her friend previously, and she didn't steal anything. My sister was bringing her dirty laundry with her to wash at my house in order to save on her water and electric bill. I put a stop to that. What can I do about her? -- DISAPPEARING ACT IN NEW MEXICO.
DEAR DISAPPEARING ACT: Assuming that the friend who always accompanies your sister during those visits is in the clear, that leaves only Sissy. Has she always been light-fingered, or is her pilfering something recent? If it is recent, talk with her husband and tell him you are worried about her. Suggest she be neurologically examined by her doctor for signs of dementia or some other brain-related illness. If she checks out, there is another condition called kleptomania, in which sufferers cannot resist the urge to steal. It is fixable only if they are willing to admit there is a problem and decide to do something about it.
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