Thieves steal moving van containing everything couple owns
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LAKE TAPPS, Wash. -- A Penske rental moving van should be sitting outside Terry and Barb Hartman's new Lake Tapps home.
But crooks made off with the van, which was filled with all of their possessions. The couple had just moved from Spokane.
"We met a realtor, finally, at the house to get our keys," said Barb Hartman. "And my husband, when we pulled up, said, 'Where's our truck?"'
"Well, it's hard to imagine," said Terry Hartman. "We haven't had anything this devastating happen to us."
Fortunately, the Hartmans still have photos of their possessions. They were taken during the sale of their home in Spokane.
"Photos, memorabilia, antique furniture, love seats -- my gosh," said Barb Hartman.
Bonney Lake police believe the van disappeared sometime between 7 p.m. last Thursday and 9 a.m. the following morning. The truck itself is bright yellow, but inside is a lot of pink -- Mary Kay products worth $10,000.
"And they'll have my label," said Barb Hartman, who has been a top seller and manager for Mary Kay for nearly four decades.
The Hartmans are trying to make the best of a bad situation.
"Mary Kay always said to take lemons and turn them into lemonade, and that's what we're going to do," said Barb Hartman.
The Hartmans are staying with family. They say the furniture and cosmetics can be replaced by insurance, but all of their mementos from a lifetime together are gone for good.
The missing 26-foot Penske van has an Indiana license plate with numbers 2101613. Anyone with information is urged to call police immediately.
But crooks made off with the van, which was filled with all of their possessions. The couple had just moved from Spokane.
"We met a realtor, finally, at the house to get our keys," said Barb Hartman. "And my husband, when we pulled up, said, 'Where's our truck?"'
"Well, it's hard to imagine," said Terry Hartman. "We haven't had anything this devastating happen to us."
Fortunately, the Hartmans still have photos of their possessions. They were taken during the sale of their home in Spokane.
"Photos, memorabilia, antique furniture, love seats -- my gosh," said Barb Hartman.
Bonney Lake police believe the van disappeared sometime between 7 p.m. last Thursday and 9 a.m. the following morning. The truck itself is bright yellow, but inside is a lot of pink -- Mary Kay products worth $10,000.
"And they'll have my label," said Barb Hartman, who has been a top seller and manager for Mary Kay for nearly four decades.
The Hartmans are trying to make the best of a bad situation.
"Mary Kay always said to take lemons and turn them into lemonade, and that's what we're going to do," said Barb Hartman.
The Hartmans are staying with family. They say the furniture and cosmetics can be replaced by insurance, but all of their mementos from a lifetime together are gone for good.
The missing 26-foot Penske van has an Indiana license plate with numbers 2101613. Anyone with information is urged to call police immediately.
This is just plain mean. Seriously, why steal someones moving van. Its not like they can really make a load of money off of someone else used stuff unless of course (no offense to the Hartman's) it was top quality. We all like our 'stuff' but to others, it really isnt' that great.
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Very pathetic people with no morals. I hope by some long-shot, the low-lives who did this will abandon the van and all the Hartman's belongings can be recovered.
Lake Tapps is such a violent area, they are lucky they got away alive. The gangs and Dixie mafia ruined the town
 @BuddyHolly Are you joking? Bonney Lake/ Lake Tapps has a crime rate that is lower than the  State and National average. In fact, most crime rates (outside of the big cities that were slammed by the recession in 2008, have much lower crime rates than 10 years ago.)  http://www.cityrating.com/crime-statistics/washington/bonney-lake.html#.URM16lrNdAs
The article does not mention how the thieves were able to get the van. Was it locked? Were the keys in the ignition or did they hot wire it? Nothing was mentioned about them confronting the owners so I guess that is out. I am sorry to hear about it but were the owners contributing to the loss?
 @LongBeachBumYou sound like you work for an insurance company or watch too much crime drama TV. Penske trucks are vulnerable to theft because of their lack of a modern locking system. They can be opened (and started) with keys other than their own.
 @LongBeachBum I don't blame the owners at all.  Stealing moving vans is a common crime.  Don't you realize that their are so many car and truck thieves that are let out of jail immediately? They can start anything without a key.  And they seem to be treated like jaywalkers up here. Â
I hate scum like this. Those poor people minding their own darn business and now have to deal with this. I hope they find the scumbags~~~
the worst part is having to deal with the insurance companies who love your payments but fight you tooth and nail if you make a big claim.
Thanks so much, these are my parents... We are trying to make the most of it and the Bonney Lake police have been wonderful so far and want to make this right.
 @Aj Sorry that this happened to your parents. I can't imagine how that must have felt to realize it was gone.  Luckily the Mary Kay products will be easier to spot, whether they are dumped or sold or given away.  Â
 @Aj I hope everything is found or replaced, sending you and the parents good vibes!
I smell a rat
 @SeattleJerk.
It sucks for sure but other than not having to live with the feeling of being violated that comes with a residential burglary, don't understand why these moving van thefts (that seem to happen every few months) are bigger news than home burglaries? These people don't strike me as too dumb to not have insurance either.
 @HawkEye because victims of home burglaries tend not to lose EVERYTHING! Could you imagine losing all you own?
 @ValleyBronco That's true they only take the good stuff you want and leave you with all the stuff you wish people would steal!
 @32jim2 You mean the stuff that's replaceable? Family mementos are what I would be heart broken over, not the tv that my husband will probably want to replace with a bigger one next year anyways.
Keep monitoring craigslist and ebay... at some point these crooks will try and monetize.
Worthless people taking advantage of decent people. I hope they can get back the mementos that are so important to them. Everything else could be replaced. Don't let it sour you on living on the west side. We have lots of great people here as well!