A family had their belongings in a truck during a move. Then the truck disappeared in Macon
Alan Boyes and his family stopped for one night in Macon last week.
It ended badly. And social media is in an uproar.
Boyes, previously from the Coppell, Texas, planned a move to Savannah for a new job with an equipment company.
Last week, his family packed a 26-foot U-Haul truck with their belongings and a new car in tow to begin the trip to Georgia.
Thursday night, they pulled over to sleep in Macon at a Holiday Inn on River Place Drive.
But when they emerged from the hotel about 4:30 a.m. Friday, they found the U-Haul had been stolen.
“Everything they owned, gone!” a listing on the GoFundMe website said. “So many sentimental items.”
Reached Sunday, Boyes said he first thought he must have parked the truck in a different place. The he asked the hotel if he did something to have the truck towed. Only then did he call the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office to report the theft.
Boyes posted about his experience on Facebook, a post that drew over 650 comments and 15,000 shares.
“Lord please help this family find their belongings,” wrote Sheri Beach Stevenson under Boyes’ post. “This is so sad and just breaks my heart how a family can’t stop for rest in middle GA and feel safe. So much for southern hospitality.”
But Boyes said he’s been blown away by how many people in Macon have reached out to help.
“The community there has been awesome,” he said. “People have been reaching out, asking ‘What can do I do to help you out?’ That has eased the experience a little. They have blown me away, reinstalling my faith in the public.”
He said people have offered him cash, dining room sets and other household items.
Has he replaced any of his belongings yet?
“Absolutely nothing,” he said. “It is going to take me a while to build up that inventory.”
Boyes and family made it to Savannah Friday afternoon, in an extra truck his wife was driving on the trip. On Sunday, he met friends from South Africa who shared some clothes. And he went to Kohl’s to get a few things to start his job Monday.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family.
The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office said an investigation into the theft is ongoing.