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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A young family, who recently moved from southeast Missouri to Kansas City, reported their belongings as stolen less than 24 hours after they arrived.

Paul Holmes packed his family’s entire life into a U-Haul truck with their 2012 Nissan Leaf attached on a trailer and drove the nearly six hours from Doniphan, Missouri, to KC on Thursday.

“The opportunity with work and everything presented more opportunities,” Holmes said.

He parked the truck at the Days Inn on Hillcrest, where the family was planning to stay while they waited for their home to close. He said a friend took him back to Doniphan to pick up his wife and two children.

When they returned to the hotel on Friday, the truck was gone.

“You can kind of see the glass there on the ground,” Holmes said as he pointed to shards of glass where the truck was parked.

Inside the U-Haul was an estimated $40,000 worth of their items, most of which were motors and circuit boards Paul made for the family’s home electronic business.

“It kind of was a catastrophic thing for us, not to mention all of her childhood pictures and wedding dress,” he said. “I can’t replace these things.”

There are cameras outside the Days Inn, but a manager told FOX4 none of them face the area where the truck was parked. One of the cameras caught the truck pulling away from the parking lot, but the driver’s side was out of view.

“I would really like for them to take our stuff and just drop it somewhere, so it can be found,” said Sabrina Holmes, Paul’s wife.

She said if there is one silver lining, it’s the sense of community her family has felt in the short time they’ve been in KC.

“Just the kindness of so many people,” she said while crying. “I didn’t expect it.”

Valerie Fargas is the Holmes’ realtor. When she heard what happened, she asked her friends and family to help.

“They’re in a new city. There’s nothing they can do,” Fargas said. “Who can they reach out to start over and get some help, and so we as a community started networking.”

The Holmes now have clothes and furniture being donated. The manager at Days Inn also offered the family free nights at the hotel. Fargas also setup a GoFundMe page for the family. They’re expected to move into their new home on Friday.

“What’s really impressed me the most is the generosity,” Holmes said as he fought tears.

The Holmes had insurance on the U-Haul, but they said it doesn’t cover their items because they were stolen. They also canceled their home insurance since they were between moves, and they only had liability insurance on the Nissan Leaf.

They filed a police report on Friday. Anyone would information is asked to call Kansas City police.

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