Denver family pleads with thieves to return stolen U-Haul with members’ remains inside
By OLIVIA YOUNG
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COLORADO (KCNC) — A Colorado family was left with nearly nothing when their packed moving truck was stolen in the middle of the night over the weekend. The most priceless items taken were urns containing the remains of three family members.
Gabriale Voeltner and her four kids packed their entire lives into a U-Haul as they prepared for a move from downtown Denver to Westminster.
“We were trying to be polite neighbors and not move in the middle of the night,” Voeltner said.
The family spent one last night in their old apartment Friday, parking the 20-foot U-Haul outside.
“We came back and checked at 11 o’clock at night and by 5 o’clock in the morning it was gone,” Voeltner said.
The family realized they had lost all their furniture, clothes and possessions. But something far more valuable was taken.
“It was my husband’s ashes,” Voeltner said, holding back tears. “It was my mom’s ashes, it was my first family pet’s ashes, all of the love letters that my husband wrote me, all of the pictures he ever drew for my kids.”
Voeltner’s husband and father of their four children, passed away back in 2017.
“They took the very last thing that we had of him,” Voeltner said. “Literally everything that was his was in there and it’s all just gone.”
Her mom passed away two years ago and the family’s pet passed last year. Urns and memorabilia from all three were inside the moving truck.
Voeltner reported the theft to police, who put out a BOLO alert for the missing truck. She says the detective told her they recover about 70% of stolen vehicles.
“They’re trying as best they can with a U-Haul that doesn’t have a GPS in it,” Voeltner said.
Now she’s begging the thief to leave her family’s remains inside the U-Haul and abandon it somewhere.
“You can take all the valuable stuff, but I just hope that whoever took it leaves behind… they see what is in there, they see the sentimental stuff, and they just leave it,” Voeltner said.
This family is asking everyone to keep an eye out for an Arizona U-Haul with an octopus on it.
If anyone has additional information about the theft are encouraged to contact the Denver Police Department. The investigation remains ongoing.
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