(KRON) -- A San Leandro family’s annual Halloween tradition has been hit by theft for the second year in a row, with expensive animatronic decorations stolen from their front yard. The Nutting family has spent 20 years transforming their home into a haunted estate, offering a free haunted house f or the community to enjoy. “For us, it’s really just the community part of it. We don’t charge. We like to have fun,” D.W. Nutting said. “We are all creatives, so it gives us an opportunity to stretch our imaginations in spooky ways.” But the family said thefts have become an unwelcome addition to their Halloween tradition. Last October, security camera footage captured a thief running up to the property, grabbing a handmade decoration and leaving with it. Photo: KRON4 News. “He ran up, grabbed it and dumped it and left,” Nutting said. “It was kind of hilarious at the time because it was the first time we experienced something like that.” This year, the family said expensive animatronic decorations were stolen from an area of the yard without security cameras. Photo: KRON4. “Definitely disheartening for my children, who put a lot of work into it,” Nutting said. “It’s disheartening for us. These things aren’t free. We leave it out here trusting the community.” The thefts have taken an emotional and financial toll on the family, which relies on the decorations to bring its haunted house to life each Halloween. “Making a haunted house is always a joy, but when something like this happens, it’s a setback from what you can put out and what you can actually do,” Reina Nutting said. The family has since installed a security camera and launched a GoFundMe campaign to help replace the stolen items and keep the haunted house tradition alive. “Nonetheless, it’s always disheartening to know that you have something like this for people to enjoy, and people help themselves to doing bad things,” D.W. Nutting said. Despite the setbacks, the Nutting family said it is determined to keep the tradition going. The haunted house is still scheduled to open for Halloween. ...read more read less