Stolen U-Haul truck filled with Castro Valley family's belongings located, officials say
CASTRO VALLEY, Calif. (KGO) -- A stolen U-Haul truck filled with a Castro Valley family's personal belongings has been located in Oakland, Alameda County sheriffs say. Officials announced the recovery of the truck on Twitter on Monday after it was reported missing on Saturday morning.
Officials say the truck appears to be "pretty full" and deputies are on the scene to return the truck to the Purcell family who was planning on moving to Utah over the weekend.
Luke and Tiffany Purcell and their two children said their moving van was packed, and they had planned to finish up vacating their Cameron Street residence this weekend to head back to Utah, where they once lived.
Luke Purcell said the moving van, a 20-foot-long U-Haul truck, was last seen driving west on Grove Way near Trader Joe's in Castro Valley at approximately 2:15 a.m. It was stolen sometime after midnight.
Purcell said he and his wife and family have lived in Castro Valley for the last eight years, and this is the first time that they have been victims of a crime.
VIDEO: San Francisco family has loaded U-Haul stolen night before move to LA to help elderly relative
"I just want our personal belongings back," Purcell said. "I don't care about the furniture or anything else."
Besides furniture and other property, he said there were personal family heirlooms that were in the truck, belongings that would not be important to anyone else.
"Life is already hard enough, especially nowadays," Purcell added.
This morning's crime may have been captured on neighbors' surveillance cameras. Purcell said that, in preparation for the move this weekend, he had already taken down surveillance cameras he had put up at the residence.
Anyone with information is being asked to contact the Alameda County Sheriff's Department at (510) 667-7721.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
