SAN ANTONIO – A North Carolina couple celebrating their retirement with a cross-country trip hit a major roadblock when their camper van was stolen from a downtown parking lot while they were touring San Antonio.
Rob Lively served our country for 28 years, and his wife, Kathy Lively, spent that time educating children.
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The veteran and former teacher were finally taking their dream retirement trip.
“Take a 60-day road trip across America. It's been a blast so far. We've hit several of the presidential libraries, met some phenomenal people,” Rob Lively said.
When the couple got to San Antonio, they parked their camper at the public parking lot on Bonham and Third Street. They came back from a tour of the Alamo and lunch on the Riverwalk to find their camper was gone.
“We were hoping it had been towed. Then we saw the pictures from the video across the street (and saw) that it had been stolen,” Rob Lively said.
Kathy Lively said it’s “a sick feeling to your stomach.”
“We have the clothes on our back and our wallets. All of our valuables were in the vehicle. We felt like it was a secure place, a ton of people passing by. It was a paid parking lot,” Rob Lively said.
The couple called insurance companies and friends to get help.
“We may be using sleeping bags instead of a class B motorhome we saved up for years for, but we are still going to go see this country that I've been fighting for for the last 28 years,” Rob Lively said.
The couple isn’t holding the theft against San Antonio or its people. Some locals even contacted them.
“(They) said, ‘That's not what San Antonio's about. I'm so sorry that happened to you,’” Rob Lively said.
Before 5 p.m. Friday, the couple got their van back. Next, they’ll head west, making a stop in El Paso. They plan to visit the Grand Canyon.