OGDEN, Utah — A family in Weber County is dealing with something they said they never imagined happening – losing all their belongings in their storage unit, because what the company shared in a letter to them was an accident.
On Monday, Mandy Lee said she got a letter from Storage City in Ogden, where she rents a large unit for furniture, appliances, and special memories. "They told me that the lock was too close to the one on 108, and they accidentally cut the wrong lock,” Lee said.
This accident is costing the family big time — financially and emotionally. "Memorabilia stuff from my husband's mission, stuff from my kids when they were born and throughout their young lives,” explained Lee.
She said the material things can be replaced but wanted to pass the old photos and diaries from her husband’s mission to their adopted son, Ethan Howard, to help him learn more about the family.
"It would’ve allowed us to be able to open up doors,” Lee explained. “That he could experience through photos and writing, that you can’t do any other way."
She said she didn’t believe the letter when she first read it. "I thought it was a joke at first, and then it was like, no this is not,” she said.
Lee read part of the letter she got from the company. "Due to the mix up of the locks, the items in your unit were accidentally auctioned off,” it said.
Now, their whole unit is empty, and they can't get onto the property anymore either. "Distraught, upset, not sure where to go from here,” Lee expressed.
FOX 13 News reached out to the storage company but did not hear back.
"My family is starting to have a little bit of a sadness in the house, because we lost everything,” Howard said. “Pretty much our whole lives were in that storage unit."
Lee said she has not been late with payments. She said she doesn’t need the rest of the things back, but is hoping whoever might have those memories can come forward and give those to her family.
"That would mean the world, that’s what I care about,” Lee added.
If you know who might have this family's photos and journals and can help them get them back, you can reach out to Mythili at Mythili.gubbi@fox13now.com to connect with the family.
