El Paso widower's car replaced after it's stolen, vandalized

Antonio Basco has visited the makeshift memorial behind the El Paso Walmart store every day since he learned his wife Margie Reckard was killed.

EL PASO, Texas – An El Paso widower whose car was stolen hours after he buried his wife of 22 years had his car replaced by a generous car dealership in his hometown.

Antonio Basco's wife, Margie Reckard, was slain in the Walmart massacre that left 22 people dead earlier this month. Basco, who has no other living family, invited the public to his wife's funeral. 

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Basco's open invitation went viral and when his wife was buried Aug. 17, her services drew gifts of flowers and condolences from across the globe.

Hours after the heartwarming outpouring of support, Basco's car was stolen, El Paso TV station KVIA reported. Citing a Facebook post by Vanessa Kondow, a towing dispatcher, KVIA reported that Basco's car was found vandalized and towed back to his home.

READ MORE: Man who lost wife in El Paso shooting sees thousands of strangers at her memorial

Kondow wrote that the thieves also took off with a pressure washer in the back of Basco's trailer that he used for his mobile car washing business. 

Casa Ford had reportedly recently serviced Basco's car before it was stolen and gave him a replacement SUV at no charge. 

MORE: 22 hearses took flowers to El Paso memorial 

"We just want you to know we love you," said Casa Ford General Manager Ronnie Lowenfield. "This is on behalf of all of us here at Casa and by extension, all of us here in El Paso. What we do here in this city is care for each other, and we're very sorry for your loss."

The exchange was captured on camera and posted to Casa Ford's Facebook page. In the video, Basco is handed the keys to a Ford SUV as onlookers clap.

According to KVIA, Basco was also gifted a pressure washer to replace the one taken.

Posted by Casa Ford Lincoln on Monday, August 19, 2019