KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A family of Broncos fans who traveled from Colorado to Kansas City for the Chiefs-Broncos game on Christmas night had their truck stolen with all their gifts.
Bob Archuleta said that he and nine other family members drove to Missouri last Friday.
They even met some of the Broncos players staying near the Archuleta's hotel.
After watching the game at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday night, Archuleta said he loaded up the family truck to travel back to Colorado the following day.
Sometime overnight, he said a thief stole the truck and all the Christmas gifts inside.
"I just happened to look up and my truck wasn't there," said Archuleta through tears. "I loaded everything. Everything we had was in that truck."
Bob Archuleta and his family at Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 25.
Archuleta said his family brought their Christmas tree and gifts with them, as well as winter clothes for the game, to make their hotel room feel more like home for the holiday.
After the crime, Archuleta said he regretted putting all the gifts inside the truck the night before driving home.
"I think I should have taken a little more precaution as to how and where I parked my vehicle," he explained.
Archuleta's daughter, Destiny Rios, said the crime put a big damper on what was a fun family weekend.
"We had never been to the state or to an opposing team's stadium," said the Denver Broncos' fan. "You don't expect something like that to happen to you. When it does, you're in a state of shock."
The holiday weekend car theft highlights a big problem unfolding in Independence, Kansas. over the last month.
According to the LexisNexis Community Crime Map, dozens of car thefts have been reported around Independence since late November.
A map showing stolen vehicles in Independence from LexisNexis Community Crime Map.
The hotel where the Archuleta family stayed reported another car theft on Nov. 27 from the same parking lot.
Independence police said car thefts are especially a threat this time of year since many people will leave their cars running to help warm them up in the cold.
After a memorable family weekend, Archuleta said he hoped police could find whoever is responsible soon.
"They might have stolen some personal things but they can never steal what we experienced there," he said.
Calls to the Independence Police Department were not returned.
No description of a suspect has been released, but Archuleta described his missing Ford F-350 as being beige in color, with a black Iron Cross bumper in the front and a small dent on the back bed door.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call (816) 474-TIPS.
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Tom Dempsey can be reached at Tom.Dempsey@KSHB.com.
