Pat Kelly stood in disbelief, staring at the empty space where, just a few hours previous, his dark brown pick-up truck was parked for the night in Richmond.
Fighting back tears, Kelly shook his head as the reality set in that his Ford F350 had been stolen overnight from the unsecured, underground lot beneath his Citation Drive apartment block, near Garden City Road and Granville Avenue.
His emotions were not fired up by the loss of his vehicle.
Loaded in the back of the pick-up was a precious cargo of more than 150 years of rich history of his family, who were the original settlers in tiny Hudson’s Hope, B.C.’s third oldest community.
Less than 12 hours earlier, around 9:30 p.m. Kelly and his wife, Debbie Gould, had arrived back in Richmond after driving all day down from Hudson’s Hope, near Fort St. John, with the truck loaded with eight totes, a chest and a trunk, all packed full of family and community heirlooms.
“We unloaded our suitcases, but were too tired to unload the photos and stuff; we didn’t think anyone would take it and we were going to deal with it in the morning,” lamented Kelly, standing in the underground parking lot and holding a picture of himself as a young boy; the only family photo he has left.
“The shitty thing is, this was all of my family stuff for the last 150 years and it’s likely lying in a muddy ditch somewhere. I’d give a reward to get it all back.”
Kelly told how his mom, Ruth Blair, was the “queen of Hudson’s Hope, the matriarch of the town.”
There were a few tears, Gould revealed, once it sunk in what he’d lost.
“Guy Robinson, Pat’s great, great grandfather, was the founder of Hudson’s Hope,” added Gould.
“We were going to send copies of everything to the Hudson’s Hope museum.”
Kelly’s mom died at age 80 about eight years ago, but it wasn’t until earlier this month that he and his wife were able to go up and clear out his mom’s home.
“We spent 17 days cleaning out all the items from the family home; packaging it all and making sure it was safe,” said Gould.
“The boxes were full of photos, native artifacts, doilies, paintings and antiques.”
The truck was stolen overnight March 19/20 and was recovered on Tuesday, March 24 in Surrey, all covered in mud and with stolen plates from Chilliwack.
“Of course, none of our stuff was there,” said Kelly.
“There is a suspicion it was used to commit another crime, who knows. Police have given us little hope of getting the stuff back.
“They probably came in off the SkyTrain like most of them do. Crime around here has gotten worse in the four years we’ve lived here.”
Police confirmed the theft and said they’re still investigating.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Richmond RCMP on 604-278-1212.
