Family's rental truck stolen, torched 2 days after move back to Bay Area
PINOLE, Calif. - A family moved back to the Bay Area from out of state and just two days later, their rental truck with nearly all of their belongings was gone.
Stacy, who asked KTVU not to give her last name, said it was stolen and torched while they were waiting to move into their new home.
The mother of four said she and her family had been staying at a motel on Appian Way in Pinole when the truck was stolen.
She said she was in a state of panic. But now, she said she's determined to make their new home feel like home because she still has what matters most – her family.
She shared photos of the burned rental truck with the damaged contents.
"Whoever stole the truck decided to burn everything, so we wouldn't have anything to salvage," said Stacy.
She and her family were moving back after a year in Las Vegas.
She said most of their belongings were on that truck including appliances, electronics and irreplaceable, sentimental items.
The truck had been parked across the street from the front of the motel.
Stacy said they had been waiting for the rental home they were leasing to become available.
She said on June 2 at about 11 a.m., she checked out of the motel, came outside and saw the truck gone.
"I was just in complete shock. Oh no, no, no, no, no. Tell me this can't be," said Stacy.
She said her partner called police, but was told the truck had already been recovered in Antioch.
Stacy says compounding her heartache was that someone had set it on fire, destroying nearly everything inside.
She estimates the loss to be about $50,000
The family's new home in El Sobrante is sparsely furnished with furniture gifted by relatives and friends.
Stacy pointed to a desk and said, "My mom bought me a printer. It's business as usual."
But she said the loss that hurts are framed photos and other sentimental items belonging to her four children ages, 3 to 17.
Stacy said her 5-year-old son, Eadric, had a dinosaur collection that he misses.
Mom said she wants whoever stole the truck and burned it, caught and held accountable.
She says this is not the welcome back to the Bay Area she expected.
But she's now focused on healing from the loss.
"You may have taken our things, but you haven't taken my family. You haven't taken the love we've put in that home that we built," said Stacy.
She said she and her family are resilient and that they are going to move pass the loss of material things.
She said she's looking forward to starting her new job as a healthcare worker next week-the reason she returned to the Bay Area
Pinole police say they are working with Antioch police to investigate.
Stacy has set up a Gofundme.
Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU.