Douglas County

Family says movers stole all their belongings

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. — A Douglas County family says movers they hired to haul their belongings to their new home vanished, taking all their possessions with them.

“I mean, we have lived in this house for over 10 years,” the homeowner explained. “We built a life here, memories. We have items that are irreplaceable on that truck.”

Douglas County deputies confirmed they are investigating the theft that happened Friday afternoon.

The homeowner said she hired the movers off Craigslist. After four hours of work, the movers climbed into their U-Haul truck and appeared to be heading to the family’s new home in another county. But along the way, the homeowner said the movers ditched her and vanished.

Douglas County investigators said Atlanta police recovered the U-Haul in a Southwest Atlanta neighborhood a few hours later, but the truck was empty.  And, investigators said, the U-Haul truck itself had been stolen long before the movers showed up at the house.

“Ten years of memories, irreplaceable items, things that my husband and I worked hard for and earned. It’s just gone,” she said.

The homeowner estimates the thieves got away with approximately $75,000 worth of furniture, electronics and clothing.

Two days later, she said Cobb police called her saying one of her boxes had been recovered, the one with her most personal items inside.

“If I don’t get anything back, I want that box, because it has all of our social security, birth certificates in it. It has death records from my mom and son,” she said. “Of course, I had iPads and phones that were gone, but all the birth certificates, and all the records that I really needed were in that box, including my Bible, thank God.”

Deputies said their investigation into the crime is ongoing.