APOLLO BEACH, Fla. — Moving into a new home is expected to be busy, but it’s also supposed to be fun and exciting.
You’re starting fresh. But for one family, who moved all the way down to Florida from Nashville, it means they’ll be starting over. Steve and Robin Plummer were moving into their Apollo Beach dream home, but the process turned into a nightmare.
“The doors were locked,” Steve said. “It was in the front of a building that we thought was secure.”
A 26-foot Penske truck filled with wedding pictures, ultrasounds of their kids and other irreplaceable possessions disappeared.
“It was everything in our four-bedroom house,” Steve said. “We had memories, pictures, scrapbooks and all of our memories from our 22 years of marriage.”
This all happened the night before the Plummer family was supposed to close on their house while they were staying at a hotel in Riverview.
Their realtor, Tennille Moore, who you may know from the Netflix series “Selling Tampa,” said she’s never seen something like this happen to clients.
“It’s just inhuman,” she said. “To take someone’s possession. I know we’re in a hard time, but I just can’t believe someone would do something like that.”
We reached out to Penske to ask how could a truck that was locked in a well-lit area just vanish overnight, but their response was an apology with no answers.
“We are sorry to learn that the Plummer family is a victim of this crime," the rental company stated. "Currently the truck and the family’s belongings have not been recovered. We are working with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office to recover the family’s belongings. We will refer all other questions to the sheriff’s office.”
HCSO said detectives are investigating the incident.
Authorities posted a video on their Youtube on Thursday with tips on how to help secure trailers. Click here to see the video.
As for the Plummers, they’re in their home, but the rooms that should be filled with their belongings are still empty. Steve had a message for the people who stole their items.
“If you want the valuable stuff, take that, we just want the memories,” he said.