MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee family is asking for the community's help after their car was stolen from their driveway with all their children's Christmas presents inside.
Kristina Fults-Yang asked her husband Eli to start their 2014 Toyota RAV4 on what seemed like any other winter morning to warm it up before she headed out for the day.
"I came outside, literally didn't see any cars here," Eli said. "So I'm like, okay, someone stole our car."
The couple discovered their blue Toyota RAV4 was gone from their backyard driveway earlier this week, leaving them without transportation and facing a devastating loss during the holiday season.
"On top of that, we had all of their Christmas gifts in the car, and we were just devastated," Kristina Yang said.
The stolen items included approximately $300 worth of Christmas presents for their four children, plus their daughter's car seat and stroller.
Watch: Milwaukee family's car stolen with Christmas gifts inside
"Really sad to know that all the hard work that we've done to get things done, I actually picked up some days at work to try to make some things happen," Kristina said.
Milwaukee police are investigating the crime and searching for unknown suspects. The department has reported just over 4,800 vehicle thefts so far this year, down 19% from the same time last year.
The Yang family is asking anyone who sees their blue Toyota RAV4 with a crack in the window and a dent in the back to report it to the police immediately.
While the family has security cameras, they were not turned on the night of the theft, something they plan to change in the future.
"Just take caution because you don't know until it's you, and that's how it was for us," Kristina said.
The theft has put the family's Christmas celebration in jeopardy, but they're relying on their faith to get through this difficult time.
"It just kind of makes you wonder, is your family safe, is your household safe?" Eli said.
This story was reported on-air by Brendyn Jones and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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