Weeks before the holidays, thief leaves a family nearly homeless in Kennewick
All Miguel Salgado wanted was to bring his wife and young daughter back to California.
The couple came to Kennewick about a month ago from Riverside, Calif., to try out life in the Pacific Northwest, but with Christmas on the horizon, Salgado’s wife missed her family.
So they packed up the apartment they were renting on the 3000 block of West Fourth Avenue. They loaded their clothes, Christmas presents and tools into the back of a Chevy Tahoe. They were doing one last walk through of the house as they prepared to leave around 11:45 p.m. Saturday.
That’s when disaster struck. A thief started their truck and drove away with all of the stuff inside.
”It was so quick I don’t even know what to think,” he said. “We’re only out here a month, and we don’t have any family out here at all. All of our families are in California.”
Police said the truck had a full tank of gas with 20-inch rims and a mobile mechanic sticker in the back. The truck’s California license plate number is 5FAU108. Officers have hunted for it, but came up empty-handed.
The loss left Salgado and his family with few places to turn. He said the managers of the apartment complex want him out, and with the holidays around the corner their families don’t have a way to help them get back to California.
He worked as a mobile mechanic, and while work was good in the area, his tools were stored in the back of the SUV.
The whole situation has left the family hoping for a holiday miracle, and the return of the truck that they bought last October from a Victorville, Calif. dealership. Salgado has tried turning to police and charity organizations, but has not had much luck in finding a place to stay or a way to get his family back to California.
“I’m trying to get my wife and kid on the train,” he said. “With all of the money, I just spent on the truck plus all of our belongings it’s about $15,000 lost in the last month.”
He just wants the person responsible for taking the SUV to realize the damage they’ve done to him and his young family. He said he is out of options, and they really need to find their truck so they can make it back to California.
Anyone with information about the theft is asked to contact Kennewick police at 509-628-0333.