A classic turkey is the main star for Thanksgiving dinner.

About 500 frozen turkeys intended to be distributed in a community giveaway were stolen from a Southern California nonprofit, the organization said.

The U.R. Important Foundation in Lake Elsinore, California, discovered the turkeys were stolen the morning of Nov. 22, just days before the Thanksgiving holiday, the foundation said.

"We were preparing to provide turkeys to families, pantries, and churches in the Inland Empire area," the foundation told USA TODAY in a statement.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that the turkeys were inside a box truck that vanished from Lake Elsinore, about 70 miles outside of downtown Los Angeles in the Inland Empire region.

"Deputies checked the area but were unable to locate the truck. There are no suspects in custody at this time," the sheriff's office said.

The organization said video footage of the theft is being reviewed by authorities.

Alexxa Oliver, the director of the U. R. Important Foundation, said she and her children were going store to store to try to replace the stolen turkeys for the giveaway and has received monetary donations to replace the birds.

"Within the past two days, we have been able to provide almost 200 turkeys to the families as well as the turkeys promised to other pantries and churches," the foundation said on Nov. 26. "The mission is almost complete, and thanks to God and the wonderful community support, all 500 families will be fed."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hundreds of turkeys for Thanksgiving giveaway stolen, nonprofit says

Reporting by Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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