JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — The Fazio family had little time to evacuate as hurricane-force winds pushed the Marshall Fire closer to their home. They grabbed whatever few possessions they could and safely escaped the fire.
"[My wife] ran around the house like a champ, and I packed everything into a couple of bags and got everything else ready," said Ryan Fazio. "And just within 20 minutes, we got us, the kids, and the animals and got out of there."
The family had been staying at a hotel in Westminster since evacuating. Almost one week after losing their home, they were dealt another huge blow.
The morning of Jan. 4, the Fazios went downstairs from their hotel room and noticed their car had been stolen. Some of the items packed away and gone with their stolen car included bags of clothes and blankets, along with boxes of their family photos, including photos of Ryan's mother.
“We wouldn’t even care if they kept the car as long as they just drop the photos off somewhere because that is literally her entire life," said Nicole Fazio, Ryan's wife. "We had all the photos and could only fit two boxes and now they are gone”
One week after the car was stolen, the Fazio family is receiving some good news.
In a tweet, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office announced deputies had recovered the stolen SUV. Even better news, the Fazio's possessions that were in the SUV were also recovered.
Great news! Jeffco deputies recovered the stolen SUV belonging to a family that lost their home to the Marshall Fire. The few possessions they had time to gather before evacuating were also recovered inside of the car. The investigation is still ongoing. #Jeffco #DoGoodInGreen pic.twitter.com/csrkqiMDMc
— Jeffco Sheriff (@jeffcosheriffco) January 14, 2022
The sheriff's office says an investigation is still ongoing.
The community has come forward to help the Fazio family – including our own Denver7 viewers. Denver7 reporter Ivan Rodriguez was able to deliver some much-needed good news.
“On behalf of our Denver7 Gives Wildfire Relief fund and our generous Denver7 Gives viewers we’d like to present you this Target gift card worth $500 to help you guys begin to move forward," he said.
“Thank you we really appreciate that, I really can’t tell you how much this means to us," Ryan said. “It makes all of this easier. You lose everything and these people are helping you bring stuff back and helping you get back on your feet.”