Thieves steal truck from Gig Harbor home while young woman is sleeping inside
Thieves steal camping truck with young woman inside
Pierce County Sheriff?s deputies are looking for the thieves who stole a truck with a young woman inside sleeping.
GIG HARBOR, Wash. - Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies are looking for the thieves who stole a truck with a young woman inside sleeping.
The theft happened in a Gig Harbor neighborhood around 5 a.m. Tuesday.
"You’re instincts just kind of kick in, of like, ‘Okay, this is a bad situation I need to get out,’" recalled Malia Kellerman.
Kellerman was the woman inside the truck.
She says she and her boyfriend have been traveling the country in the truck for the last year and a half.
Kellerman says her boyfriend went to Alaska to work as a commercial fisherman a few weeks ago. The couple parked the truck, which has a camper attached to it, in her parent’s driveway.
Kellerman says the truck is her home, and she felt more comfortable sleeping inside the camper than inside her parent's house.
On Tuesday, while sleeping inside the camper, Kellerman said she heard a knock, then felt the truck moving.
"Realizing this is really wrong, self-preservation kicks in, instinct kicks, fight or flight kicks in—whatever you want to call it. Jump out of bed, unlock the camper door, throw it open, jump out," she said.
Kellerman escaped relatively uninjured, but the thieves got away with about $30,000-worth of goods, including the truck, the camper, two mountain bikes, Kellerman’s phone and computer, as well as her boyfriend’s computer and his other possessions.
On Thursday afternoon, Pierce County deputies said the camper and bikes were recovered but the truck is still missing.
"That was his home. That’s more than just, you know, a vehicle," she said. "That was everything."
Kellerman said she is sharing her story in the hope that someone from the community can help bring back their home.
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If anyone has information call the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department or Crime Stoppers of Tacoma and Pierce County at 1-800-222-TIPS or through the P3 Tips app.