HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — A family moving from Florida to Colorado is devastated after thieves stole their pickup truck and a U-Haul trailer as they slept in a Henry County hotel last weekend.
“We got our two kids, three and seven and three dogs. In between like midnight and one thirty, someone stole our truck with the U-Haul trailer with all our belongings,” said Denise Barron.
Surveillance video shows the suspect thief in the parking lot of the hotel near I-75 in Locust Grove. Moments later, the family’s pickup with the trailer in tow, is seen leaving the parking lot.
“I’m trying to hold it together, trying to be the husband and father I’m supposed to be, but ah, it’s pretty tough to have everything you got, everything taken from you,” said John Barron.
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Barron said the total loss, including the truck and family’s household items is around $50,000. That includes the children’s Christmas gift and something beyond value.
“For me, my mother died about twenty years ago, and there was a necklace with her ashes in it. For me you cannot put a price tag on it,” said Denise Brown.
Police are not sure how the thief was able to break in and start the truck without a key.
“We don’t know if they’re punching the ignition, or some kind of mechanical device to crank it, we don’t know,” said Locust Grove Police Chief Derrick Austin.
Austin told Channel 2’s Tom Regan that in that last four years, five to eight older model F-250 have been stolen from hotel parking lots in Locust Grove. He speculated on why they are popular with thieves.
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“The assumption is the motor in them. They have an older style diesel motor that is popular for resale. But we do not really know,” said Chief Austin.
Austin says detectives are doing everything possible to locate the stolen truck and trailer. In the meantime, the family is moving on to Colorado and counting their blessings.
“It’s tough, but I’m glad we have each other,” said Barron.
The family was in between insurance coverage and say their household belongings were not covered. A GoFundMe account has been set up here if you would like to donate to help the family.
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