PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A U-Haul with all of a young family’s belongings inside was stolen early Monday in Gresham, but an alert resident spotted the stolen truck and called police.
Kristen Edgell and her 2 young children were using the U-Haul to move. Everything she had was in the truck that was parked on SE Palmquist Road. Sometime between 11 p.m. Sunday and 5 a.m. Monday, the entire truck was stolen.
Around 5 a.m. Edgell walked outside. “I came out to the street and it’s just gone,” she told KOIN 6 News. She called the police and reported it stolen right away.
Gresham police tweeted about the theft. Around 1:30 p.m. one of their Twitter followers spotted the U-Haul near NE 162nd and Holladay and called police.
Most of the items were in still in the U-Haul, Edgell told KOIN 6 News. But not all. The big furniture and her children’s toys are there but the TV, laptop, all her food and toilet paper were all taken.
Despite the theft, Edgell said she was “super happy” how it turned out. “I wish today didn’t happen, thought,” she said.
She also said everyone who spoke with after the theft “was super supportive and nice.”
This incident is one of several U-Haul robberies that have taken place in the Portland area over the last two months.
About two weeks ago, a loaded U-Haul and a trailer carrying a Mazda Miata were reported stolen from a hotel’s parking lot in Troutdale. Over a month ago, a U-Haul with $250,000 worth of Yeezys shoes inside was stolen in Portland.
Edgell said that’s what her movers and officials with U-Haul told her — that more and more U-Hauls are being targeted by thieves.
KOIN 6 News reporter Elise Haas contributed to this report.