NORFOLK, Va. -- A military family making the move from Florida to Massachusetts might regret their stop in Virginia. Someone broke into and stole the family's minivan and U-Haul from outside the Norfolk Navy Lodge on Saturday night, July 9.
"We packed up all our belongings that we care about most deeply, put them in our minivan and towed a U-Haul," Coast Guardsman Matthew Crandall told WTKR.
About $30,000 worth of items, including military uniforms, laptops, passports, a wedding ring, and other jewelry was stolen along with the vehicles. But other stolen items were considered priceless to the family.
"We have two young daughters. We're never going to get back the baby books, the footprints, all the stuff that we kept throughout the years of them," Crandall said.
Norfolk Police and Coast Guard investigators are investigating the thefts.
"They really didn't give me too much information. It just seems like something where they will eventually see the car on the side of the road," Crandall said.
With no surveillance footage given to the family, the community has stepped in, raising a few hundred dollars to help.
"Everyone has been very positive, just from one Facebook post my wife has made, so it's been very uplifting to see," Crandall said. "I'm hoping with Texas plates on the minivan and Washington plates on the U-Haul, that a big orange U-Haul box might get noticed by the side of the road. I don't care if the car is towed, I just want to get the stuff that's within the car."
