Couple says thieves tore through storage unit wall, stole nearly everything they owned
By Kate Devine
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WICHITA, Kansas (KAKE) — A Wichita couple says nearly everything they owned was stolen from their storage unit at Prime Storage near 13th and Maize.
Muirgheal Redford and Adrian McCorgary said they had been renting the unit since December. On Sunday, they went to pick up tools for work and found the unit almost completely empty.
“We arrived here to pick up some tools,” Redford said. “As he’s opening the door, as he’s rolling it up, at my feet I see a coat and a big cardboard tube that I assumed had posters or something in it. And as I look up, we just see everything’s gone. It’s kind of shell shock, really. Every single thing you own missing.”
The couple said whoever broke in did not get through the front door.
“They unscrewed the wall paneling on their side of the unit on the inside, took the panel down and gained access to our unit, and then were able to undo our lock from the wall, from the inside of the unit,” McCorgary said.
Redford and McCorgary estimate between $80,000 and $100,000 worth of belongings were taken, including collectibles, appliances, furniture and business items.
“Pretty much any appliance or furniture we’ve had our entire lives, going back to our childhood,” Redford said.
The couple said some of the most painful losses are the things that cannot be replaced.
“Great-grandmother’s handwritten recipes were in a box,” Redford said. “She made stained glass art, so some stained glass pictures from her, and then childhood blankets and other blankets with our names embroidered, and her letterman jacket from high school.”
McCorgary said he also lost family keepsakes.
The couple said it looked like the theft involved more than one person.
“It looks like it was cleared out by multiple people, by multiple vehicles,” McCorgary said. “It wasn’t just one person. It looks like it was a crew of people.”
Redford and McCorgary said they are still working through the insurance process and waiting for updates in the case.
“We’re still figuring out the insurance,” McCorgary said. “We were refunded our last month of rent. The general manager fought for that for us. Other than that, we haven’t been told anything. We haven’t been contacted by the detective on our case yet, so we’re not sure what’s going to happen.”
They said the insurance they were told about would only cover $3,000, and the maximum protection plan offered through the company would only cover up to $10,000.
McCorgary said they are leaning on family as they try to move forward.
“Everything minus two suitcases of clothing that we both brought to a family’s house is gone,” Redford said.
“The hope is insurance covers some of it,” Redford said. “The other hope is that anything that isn’t of value but has a lot of sentimental value, maybe we can find it dumped somewhere or someone has the sense about them to maybe turn some of it back in.”
A GoFundMe has been set up for the couple. You can find it here: gofund.me/98fe78e14
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