Thieves steal pickup, possessions of girl with cancer
PLAINFIELD, Ind. — Car thieves turned an already trying cross-country trip into a tragedy when they stole Amber and Jason Griffin's pickup truck from the parking lot of a motel here.
After learning that their 8-year-old daughter, Nevaeh, would need to get to California for cancer treatment, the Griffins packed about everything they own into their Ford F-250 and began driving to Los Angeles from their Pennsylvania home.
They stopped Thursday night and got a room at Baymont Inn and Suites so Nevaeh, their 2-year-old son and their two dogs could rest.
When they woke up the next morning, the truck was gone.
The Griffins have found support online with more than $55,000 in donations from people moved by the family's story. It had a goal of $10,000.
"The unthinkable happened," Amber Griffin wrote Sunday morning on a GoFundMe page created to raise money for her daughter's treatment. "So many beautiful people started donating to her (GoFundMe) page to help us rent a car, buy some clothes and continue our journey.
"Words (can't) express how grateful our family is," she wrote.
The theft happened sometime between midnight Thursday and 9:30 a.m. Friday, according to Lt. Gary Tanner of the Plainfield Police Department.
Tanner said the missing truck is a white, 2000 Ford F-250 4x4 with Pennsylvania license plate ZGM1239. The child's medical records, family financial documents, clothing, computers and other personal items were inside.
In a post on the GoFundMe page, Amber Griffin said the vehicle also was carrying her son's car seat and shoes.
"We really don't have any leads right now on the police side of things," Tanner said. "They were able to get a rental car from Enterprise at a greatly reduced rate so they could continue their trip."
Nevaeh was diagnosed with a bone cancer called osteosarcoma in May. She already has been through seven rounds of chemotherapy, but the cancer metastasized to her lungs.
She is scheduled for her first appointment Thursday in California.