U-Haul holding U.S. family's entire possessions stolen in Abbotsford, B.C.
'My life, my children's life, our military gear, everything that we accumulated — gone'
When Anna Spencer and her five children packed up their life in Georgia and set off to join her military husband in Alaska she knew it would be a big trip, but she never thought everything would be stolen en route, let alone on their first night in Canada.
Spencer and her children stopped for the night in Abbotsford, B.C., just outside of Vancouver, and woke up on Monday to find an empty space where the U-Haul truck with all her family's possessions had been parked.
What can I do? … I can depend on the community to see what's wrong.— Anna Spencer
"I wasn't even here for 24 hours and my 26-footer U-Haul truck, with my four-bedroom house in it, was stolen," Spencer said, starting to cry, in an interview with the Abbotsford Police Department, which was posted on YouTube on Wednesday.
"My life, my children's life, our military gear, everything that we accumulated — gone."
The distraught family, who were travelling in the truck and a mini van to Fairbanks, Alaska, reported the theft to Abbotsford police, and continued their move on Tuesday with all they had left — small, overnight bags — in the mini van.
Truck found
Fortunately, the truck has since been found in nearby Surrey, but Const. Ian MacDonald, of the Abbotsford Police Department says a lot of the contents are gone.
He's has contacted Spencer, who is making arrangements to return and collect what remains of their family goods.
But first, she and her children, who are between the ages of 10 and 27, are going to join her husband Ronald Spencer, who was recently posted with the U.S. Army in Fairbanks.
They wanted to get there as soon as possible, MacDonald told CBC News.
"She's had a number of challenges along the way and part of me is rooting for her to get there and get a big hug from her husband, but from an investigative point of view it would be good for us if she comes back and identifies what's missing," he said.
$100,000 worth of belongings
It's estimated that the items in the truck were worth about $100,000, according to a statement from police. And while insurance might cover some of the losses, there's concern that priceless possessions such as family heirlooms, photos and military gear may never be recovered.
All I could do as a Canadian was to apologize 64 times.— Const. Ian MacDonald, Abbotsford Police Department
Spencer hopes someone will come forward with information to help her recover her belongings.
"It didn't take overnight to gain all of this," she said. "It took a lifetime to build what we had."
"What can I do?" she asked. "It's out of my hands. I can depend on the community to see what's wrong. They can come forward if they see anything suspicious."
MacDonald agreed.
"All I could do as a Canadian was to apologize 64 times," MacDonald said. "It's horrible enough for citizens of this country when something like this happens, but for visitors it's even worse."
Even though the truck has been recovered police are still looking for clues to help recover the missing goods.
The U-Haul truck — described as a 2007 General Motors vehicle, predominantly white with some orange and a landscape picture of mountains on it — was stolen from a hotel parking lot in the 36000 block of North Parallel Road in Abbotsford. A suspect vehicle was seen on the hotel's security system and the U-Haul was driven away at 3:46 a.m. PT on Aug. 17.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Abbotsford Police Department at 604-859-5225, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.