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Balloon stolen at Albuquerque Balloon Fest

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A California woman wasn’t able to honor her late husband at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta after a thief made off with the balloon her daughter planned to pilot.

Police say Lucinda Wallace’s hot air balloon was taken sometime early Saturday morning from the Nativo Hotel. The suspect also took a trailer holding the balloon and a Chevrolet Suburban with a California license plate that reads “baluner.”

Wallace says daughter Marilyn was going to fly it in memory of her father. Rick Wallace died more than two months ago of cancer.

The balloon is blue with a rainbow design and a U.S. flag on the side.

Meanwhile, the family flew back to their Santa Monica, California, home to get another balloon and drive back to the Fiesta.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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