The recovery of a U-Haul truck found abandoned in Abbotsford has given a father and daughter new hope as they move forward with plans to relocate in Victoria.
Former Saskatoon residents Michael Suiker and his daughter Meghan were devastated when the truck and trailer – containing virtually all their possessions – were stolen off a street in South Surrey sometime during the night of Dec. 29, after they had just completed a long leg of their journey, a drive from Calgary.
The vehicle was recovered by Abbotsford Police Department on New Year's Day, thanks to a tip from a sharp-eyed resident who had seen postings about the truck and trailer on social media.
And while the trailer, containing an ATV, is still missing and most of the Suikers' furniture and other possessions were gone from the truck, the good news is that a few boxes containing personal mementos – including family photos and urns – were left behind by the thieves.
"There was one 'Rubbermaid' container with a lot of old photo albums and another box that had some, if not all, of my wall-mounted family photos – and somebody had taken the trouble to place the keepsake urns from my father and grandmother on top of that," Suiker told Peace Arch News Monday.
"There was one other small box that had a couple of trinkets in it," he added.
Suiker said the outpouring of support he and Meghan – who is due to graduate high school in the spring – have received, including many social media postings and media reports, is "heartwarming."
"We're very appreciative of that," he said. "It's very comforting and it gives us a bit of hope that there is still more to come."
Suiker's girlfriend, Louise Wowchuk – who made the original, frequently-shared social-media postings about the theft – has started a GoFundMe account for Suiker and Meghan at https://www.gofundme.com/2yh5nmpw to help them rebuild.
And Suiker said he and Meghan will continue with plans to establish a residence in Victoria, before Meghan has to fly back to Saskatoon, where she will be completing her Grade 12 year before resettling on the West Coast.
"We're safe and we're healthy and we're continuing to build our future in Victoria," he said.
On the downside, he added, is the fact that he has not been able to connect with U-Haul representatives to file an insurance claim, in spite of leaving numerous messages at the service number provided.
While Suiker believes he purchased insurance that would cover the stolen items, not being able to confirm a claim has been "highly frustrating and very concerning for us," he said.
And the fact remains that "there is a whole list of things that we've talked about over the last few days" that are still missing.
"They're still out there," he said. "We're hoping some of these items might be returned or placed somewhere for us."
Still on the list is everything Meghan owned, Suiker said, including her furniture and personal mementos.
"She is an exceptional soccer player and she had many awards and medals and pictures of her career, as well as everything else she had in her bedroom," he said.
"To put it in perspective, I still have two suitcases of clothes, a laptop computer and a set of overnight toiletries. But when you look at the contents of an entire house and garage, it's not much."
Suiker said he parked the 34-foot U-Haul truck and 18-foot trailer "about half a block away" from where he and Meghan were staying with relatives near 34 Avenue and Rosemary Heights Drive at around midnight.
He discovered that the vehicles were gone the next morning, when he and Meghan were going to head for the ferry to Swartz Bay, Suiker said.
The missing trailer's plate number is 975-ITN.
Anyone with information on the trailer's whereabouts, or information that could lead to the recovery of items stolen from the truck is asked to call Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502.