VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - “I started in a little Toyota pickup,” said Alex Melendez.
Melendez has a detailing garage and a trailer was missing from it earlier this week but after a News 3 story it was located!
“It’s a nice 5x7, all-black enclosed trailer. It’s got one door on the side, two doors in the back,” Melendez adds.
In surveillance video, you can see a dark pickup truck drive away with his trailer. The trailer was parked right in front of his garage off Taylor Farm Road.
“The initial feeling was definitely hurt,” said Melendez.
He was hurt that someone would steal from him and put a pause on business - a business he started in April 2018. The mobile service is a crucial part of his day-to-day job.
“About 70% of the work here that we provide for everybody around here is definitely mobile,” Melendez adds.
They show up to people’s homes, offering them a contactless service in the pandemic.
The value of the trailer and everything inside of it was about $3,500.
“[A] nice, big water tank in there, [and a] generator to provide the power" are just a few things that are kept inside the trailer.
However, Melendez said the sentimental value is greater than the trailer's contents.
“It helps me get out of bed in the morning and go to work and do what I enjoy doing.”
It’s also his livelihood. “It pays the bills and it allows me to eat,” he added.
In a Facebook post, Melendez thanked the community for all their posts, which included hundreds of shares and calls to help find his trailer.
On Tuesday police said the trailer was located in Suffolk. There is no further information about the circumstances of how it was located at this time.
Virginia Beach Police say this incident is being investigated. Anyone with information is asked to take action and call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP (1-888-562-5887).
