RIVERVIEW, Fla. — A family who just moved to the Tampa Bay area is trying to find a way to get by after they said a U-Haul with nearly everything they own inside was stolen.
UPDATE: U-Haul apologizes for mistake after family's belongings lost in moving truck mixup
“It was supposed to be something really exciting, and now it’s really sad and difficult,” said Samantha Brown.
Brown said her parents, Stan and Shirley, moved down from the St. Louis area after they sold their house at the end of August. While they stayed in an apartment waiting for their new home to be ready for move-in, Brown said her parents paid to store a U-Haul with all their belongings packed inside at a parking lot of a Holiday Inn in Clearwater.
“Went to go pick up their belongings from the Holiday Inn, the U-Haul, on the 4th, and the truck was not there anymore,” said Brown.
Brown said everything is gone, from furniture to financial information and even family memorabilia. The family estimated the stolen items are worth upwards of $43,000.
Brown explained that insurance wouldn’t be covering any of her parent’s belongings.
“Their wedding pictures, like family videos of us growing up and things like that, things from my grandparents,” said Brown. “The other things can be bought, but you can’t get the sentimental items back.”
Brown said the truck number is JH-4651-F with Arizona plate AH39543.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said detectives are actively investigating this case. ABC Action News reached out to the hotel for comment and to see if there is any surveillance video of the incident, and we haven’t yet heard back.
“Our parents help us through so many things in life, and then when they need something, there’s just only so much we can do given what the situation is,” said Brown.
