A stolen car belonging to a Quebec family visiting the Maritimes has been found, but it’s not the happy ending the couple was hoping for.
Steven Balatti and his family checked in to New Brunswick’s Kouchibouguac National Park park on Sunday. They were switching campsites on Monday when they stopped at Kelly's Beach for the afternoon, parking in the designated lot for trailers.
At about 4:45 p.m., Balatti came out to get money for ice cream when he noticed their car and camper were gone. The thief or thieves broke into the trailer where they found a spare set of keys and drove away.
“Somebody saw the Boler leave the place at 4:30 and we came back at 4:45, so it was really, really close,” he said.
Balatti’s partner, Stefanie Forcier, found her wallet nearby. Her ID was there, as well as the family's passports, but their credit cards were gone.
“At this moment our little world was falling out,” said Balatti.
The RCMP responded to a report of a vehicle on fire on North Kouchibouguac Road around 2 a.m. Wednesday. They found the family’s 2014 Volkswagen Jetta at the scene, but it was burned out, and the trailer is still missing.
“We have a sentimental attachment to the trailer on the car. It's not about the car and the material things, it's the memories that were just stolen,” said Forcier.
Among the cherished items in the trailer is a journal in which the family has been documenting their memories for the last two years, as well as a stuffed toy their four-year-old never sleeps without.
The trailer is described as a white 1973 Boler with clouds painted on the inside of the door. It has a Quebec licence plate RG447OH.
Anyone with information about the theft or the fire is asked to contact police.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Jonathan MacInnis
