SAN ANTONIO — A woman's truck was stolen from Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, while she was in surgery.
Catherine Kuhlmann left her truck with hospital valet at Methodist Hospital on Tuesday, March 12. When she returned from her hospital stay on Monday, March 18, her truck was gone.
"I think everyone thinks there's an expectation of security when you leave a vehicle and valet." she said.
While Kuhlmann is mourning the loss of her truck, it's the loss of other irreplaceable items she hopes someone will have the heart to return.
"It had my will, my husband and my father's death certificates, all my tax records, as well as my husband's fire helmet, the flag that [U.S. Representative] Chip Roy gave him, [and] the cross from his funeral," Kuhlmann said.
Her husband, Stacy Kuhlmann was a fire captain with the Fredericksburg Fire Department. He died less than a year ago, in a crash.
"I loved my truck, she said. "I waited a long time to finally get that truck and I made a lot of sacrifices, but I can't get back the time that was lost with my husband. And now whoever has this knows where I live. They have my Social Security number. They have all the information from the whole family."
Kuhlmann kept her late husband's fire helmet in the passenger seat of her truck. Normally she would have taken those items out before travelling to San Antonio, but due to the nature of her emergency surgery, she explained this time she didn't.
"That's a piece of our family and we will never get my husband back and my daughter never get her dad back or my son," Kuhlmann said. "But we were reminded of the good times and the value of him by those things. Not only do I not have a vehicle because of this, it's like somebody kicked us again. It's like he died all over again because it's one thing to just steal, but to steal death certificates and steal personal belongings when it's obvious what they're for, that's a totally different type of low."
Methodist Hospital regarding the stolen truck wrote in a statement:
"Upon learning of the missing vehicle, we followed our standard protocol by reviewing camera footage and immediately notified the San Antonio Police Department. We will fully support investigators to help retrieve such precious valuables; however, as an active investigation that is no longer in our jurisdiction, we must defer any questions to the SAPD authorities."
San Antonio police are investigating this case. Anyone with information on the truck, or the belongings are asked to call local law enforcement.