A family new to town has received a nasty welcome.
Thieves stole a pickup truck that Tanner Stanley, 19, had spent his teenage years restoring and customizing.
Stanley and his parents recently moved to the San Antonio area from coastal Virginia, hoping to make a better life for themselves.
"Where we came from, you could park your truck around and not have to worry about it," said Dawn Stanley, Tanner's mother. "We want to be in ministry and reach out to people who are broken. Just every step has been a step of faith for us. But yesterday was a shock."
The family has been staying at a motel near Loop 1604 and Pat Booker Road.
Her husband, Wilson, discovered the empty parking space when he went out Thursday morning to walk the family's dogs.
Tanner had parked his prized pickup in well-lit area, just steps from his window. Still, someone managed to steal it overnight.
"It was just a shock," Tanner said. "I really didn't know what to think."
The teen took an old truck his father used around the family farm in Virginia and spent five years and more than $6,000 — money he earned working part-time jobs — to turn it into a teenage dream.
"He would look on eBay and find the best prices. He replaced everything, you know seats, radio, the headliner," said his mom. "We've seen years of work go into it I mean, you wonder what people are thinking."
Early Friday morning, the Stanleys received word that the truck had been found, but there's not much left of it. (See below.)
The thieves stole everything from it that they could, as well as an ATV that was in the bed and personal items inside.
"They found it up on blocks. I guess they've stripped everything inside and out," Tanner said.
Now, the family who had high hopes for a new life in the Alamo City is wondering if the move was a mistake.
"We've thought about just packing everything up and driving back," said Dawn Stanley.