Manatee County woman loses thousands in storage unit theft

BRADENTON, Fla. - A Bay Area woman said she was the victim of a storage unit theft, and Manatee County deputies said it’s part of a recent trend.

Sandra Goodin said she rented a unit from Xpress Storage in Bradenton and after two weeks it was broken into. 

"It's horrible. There's so much that's destroyed, so much that's missing now that I'm here unpacking. It's crazy. And we're finding more stuff missing," Goodin said.

She said her father checked on the unit Sunday and noticed the original lock had been changed.

"So, I opened it up and everything was ransacked really bad. So then that's when I called the sheriff's department, and they came out," Tom Strauss said.

Manatee County Sheriff's Office deputies report an increase in these incidents in the last few months.

"It's very frustrating for the people that are renting these units. And it's frustrating for us, too, because we're trying to make these places safe, and we're hoping to make some arrests," Randy Warren, MCSO's public information officer said.

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Deputies are working with code enforcement to trespass individuals and encouraging businesses to utilize cameras to help with any investigations.

This family said there were only cameras outside of the unit.

"You're under the assumption that your property is safe. There are no cameras within that facility inside, only outside," Strauss said.

The family estimates more than $3,000 in loss due to the incident. FOX 13 reached out to Xpress Storage and was told the company had no comment.