Thief ruins Mall of America vacation for Texas family

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - A Texas family wishes they never came to Minnesota after a car thief made off with their valuable possessions during a vacation visit to the Mall of America.

The Turners talked about moving to Minnesota because of the beautiful weather they experienced earlier this week. But then they went to the mall, and when they left, their SUV was gone, and they wanted nothing more than to leave Minnesota.

The Texas Turners rewarded their eldest daughter with a trip to Minnesota for graduation. So for their last vacation as a family of four, they loaded up their 2002 Chevy Suburban — they call it Big Blue — and drove to Bloomington.

Their day got off to a great start as they mapped out the mall.

"We were overwhelmed by everything," said the matriarch, Faith Turner.

They got lost in the Amazing Mirror Maze, and two of the girls looked for rides in Nickelodeon Universe.

"It was fun," said the eldest daughter, Amaya. "We went on mostly all of them."

But their roller coaster of a day ended on a dramatic downhill when they walked back into the parking lot and realized someone had stolen Big Blue.

"We were like, oh, you know, just all sense of hope, all sense of every feeling you could think of, you know, it just came out," said Faith Turner. "And Kylie (the youngest) actually started crying."

The mall has security cameras all around and security officers on frequent patrols, but they couldn’t stop the theft. Bloomington police are investigating. 

The Turners say they kept most everything in the SUV — trusting the mall’s security over anything at hotels. They lost an iPad, the father’s wedding ring, and the keys to their home, among other items.

So instead of staying longer as planned, they chose to leave Minnesota and the bad vibes as quickly as possible, renting a vehicle and driving home within hours of becoming victims. But they wanted to leave a message behind.

"People of Minnesota, you know, if y’all see our vehicle, please reach out to the police department," said Faith Turner. 

The family started a GoFundMe page to help them replace Big Blue and their possessions.