Family searches for missing moving truck with their belongings inside

By Juli McDonald

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    TAUNTON, Massachusetts (WBZ) — It was supposed to be start of a bright new chapter.

After raising children and grandchildren, John Simmons and his wife were finally moving from Taunton to Florida. A longtime dream.

Now, the family wonders if they’ll ever see their their belongings again. A confusing trail of calls and texts began.

“Saturday came and went, and they did not show up,” said Simmons. “Landmark was the original, out of Fort Lauderdale Florida. And they outsourced it to United.”

One of the alleged movers began texting for more money.

“He called me three days ago, and he said, ‘I left these guys. I’m on the street right now.’ He said. ‘They’re deceitful, they’re lying, they’re stealing from everyone.’”

Simmons called truck rental company Penske directly.

“He says, ‘I have some bad news.’ I said, ‘What?’ He said, ‘That truck is reported stolen.’”

Simmons filed a report with Taunton Police, but it feels like a needle in a haystack. He has no idea where the truck is.

“What am I going to do? They’re basically holding us hostage right now.”

He’s shared the truck images on social media, but knows it matches a whole lot of other trucks on the highway.

He wants to save someone else from going through this.

“Go with reputable movers, and there’s a lot of good movers out there. And yes, they may cost you a little more money, but it’s worth it in the long run.”

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