U-Haul carrying military couple’s life, car stolen in Gresham stopover

GRESHAM Ore. (KPTV) - A U-Haul truck filled with all the possessions of a military couple, and towing their car, was stolen when they stopped for the night in Gresham on Wednesday.

Jennifer Luna and Gustavo Burciaga were moving from the McChord Air Force Base in Washington State to Albuquerque, N.M. when they spent the night at a Motel 6, waking up to discover the truck gone.

“The U-Haul had everything we had,” Burciaga said.

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Security footage from the hotel showed the thieves taking the truck and all it carried within five minutes, according to Luna.

“A lot of it was precious to me, and you can’t put a price tag on lots of stuff,” Luna said.

They lost photos, gifts given to her by friends and artwork she’d made, including the first gift Luna gave to her husband.

“That to me was worth most to me in this life,” Burciaga said. “Aside, of course, from my wife.”

Crucial documents with private and identifying information were also in the truck.

“It’s just terrifying to know someone out there has all of this information on you,” Burciaga said. “And they can do whatever they want with it.”

Luna said it never crossed her mind that the documents wouldn’t be safe in the truck.

“Now, looking back at it, you kind of realize how careless you can be when you’re putting your whole entire life on a U-Haul,” Luna said. “There are bad people that want that.”

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They had the only set of keys to the truck with them, so the thieves must have hotwired the it.

Burciaga said he had no words for the people who stole their lives.

“It leaves you heartbroken and feeling sad for the world,” Luna said. “It makes you feel hopeless.”

The couple said they’d never wish this on anyone else. They also said there were a lot of people in the Portland area are doing their best to help them find their stuff.

As they’re filing a claim, a friend of theirs started a GoFundMe on their behalf to help them with financial troubles.

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