Strangers help woman start over after thieves steal, burn all her belongings

Late Monday night, someone stole a Budget moving van filled with Beth Fisher’s belongings.

On Wednesday morning, police found the abandoned van in an industrial area of Salt Lake City. It had been intentionally set on fire, destroying almost everything inside it.

“It’s completed devastated,” John Wall, a friend of Fisher’s, told Fox 13. “They lit it on fire and it’s just destroyed. Everything she owns, her whole life in the back of a truck, destroyed.”

"You just have to find the little victories,” Fisher said. “They were able to recover my laptop which had plenty of photos on it, lots of photos of my dad.”

Fisher, a pilot with the University of Utah’s AirMed service and former Marine, was moving cross-country for a new job. Both the moving van and the trailer towing her car were stolen during the night before the big move, leaving her with nothing.

Police are still searching for her 2005 black Subaru Legacy Outback and the trailer it was on.

“Everything that has meaning to her has been taken, and it’s just sad to think that somebody who’s helped save countless lives with us over the years could have something so tragic happen to her,” Wall said.

Fisher’s AirMed coworkers quickly launched a crowdfunding site to help her get back on her feet.

In just two days, the site has already raised more than $15,000, tripling the original goal of $5,000.

“[My] heart is absolutely overflowing with gratitude. The tears I’ve shed yesterday and today have truly been tears of happiness at my good fortune and at the kindness and generosity of friends and strangers,” Fisher wrote in response to the outpouring of support.

“It still leaves a good taste in my mouth because everybody has come out of the wood work to help me out,” Fisher told ABC 4 Utah.