UT family loses nearly everything after U-Haul stolen during cross-country move - East Idaho News
Utah

UT family loses nearly everything after U-Haul stolen during cross-country move

  Published at

Provo, UT (KSTU) — The Romeros didn’t think it could happen to them. They’ve seen similar stories on the news, but the thought of them being the victims of a theft seemed unlikely.

“I’m thinking, is this really happening?” Josh Romero said.

He, his wife, and their 14-month-old daughter had packed their life into a 20-foot U-Haul truck with the family’s 2008 Kia Spectra hitched to the back.

“I thought this was a good move for us,” Romero said of accepting a new job in Florida.

The family left their home in Provo early Monday morning, and they stopped in Albuquerque Monday night at a Days Inn Hotel. But when they walked out in the morning, both their U-Haul and their car were missing.

“I thought maybe he had moved the truck,” said Jessica Romero, Josh’s wife. “Then I thought maybe someone towed it. But how would you tow a 20-foot truck with a car attached to the back?”

The Romeros said virtually everything they own was in the U-Haul.

“Baby items, clothes, furniture,” Jessica Romero said, listing off some of the stolen items. “But then there’s the sentimental things.”

The Romeros posted about what happened to their Facebook page. Within hours, their friends had shared the post and people from New Mexico began reaching out to help the family.

“The offered money, clothes, gift cards, it’s been unreal,” Jessica Romero said.

One local even bought the family a car seat and took them shopping for baby shoes for the couple’s daughter.

They said the U-Haul has been found, but virtually nothing was left inside it. Family members have created a GoFundMe account to help recoup the cost of the stolen items.

SUBMIT A CORRECTION