The family of a slain tow truck driver believes items from a roadside memorial were stolen.
- A Bay area tow truck driver died October 9
- Family set up roadside memorial to honor Troy McGuire's memory
- They believe someone has stolen his personal items from a cross they placed there
Troy McGuire was struck and killed earlier this month by a drunk driver on Interstate 75 near Big Bend Road as he was loading cars onto his tow truck.
His family set up a memorial on the highway that had his shirt and a hat on a cross.
As of Tuesday morning, the shirt and hat were gone.
The Florida Department of Transportation said its maintenance crews did not remove the items.
"I was so sick to my stomach,” McGuire’s sister-in-law, Cori Yeatman, said. “Who could do that to a family? We just lost Troy, we don’t need anything like this to happen."
Yeatman said the memorial was helping the family with their grief.
"It was helping all of us, especially his four kids,” Yeatman said. “We were all taking it hard. We could go up there on the interstate. We could talk to Troy."
This past weekend, dozens of tow truck drivers participated in a memorial drive for McGuire.
News of the missing items has hit the drivers hard.
"I want to explode,” Ginger Darling, who organized the memorial ride, said. “I was infuriated. It was absolutely a desecration. It’s like desecrating a grave, that’s what it’s like."
Tuesday afternoon, someone placed a different hat on the memorial, but McGuire’s family said it was not his hat. They said they just want the items back.
"If you would please return it, no questions asked," Yeatman said. "Just take it to Sunpoint Automotive at 2212 East College Avenue and just leave it there and just go."