NEWARK, Calif. (KRON) — As nearly 2,000 high school students converge on the campus of James Logan High School in Union City this weekend for the annual California High School Speech Association state championship tournament, they will be missing many of the materials and equipment needed for the event.
Event organizers said equipment slated to be used on stage for the students’ speech debate was stolen from a U-Haul truck while it was parked outside a Newark hotel.
“The box truck containing about $10,000 worth of merchandise, backdrops, technical equipment and donated business wear for the lending closet was discovered stolen at 7 a.m. Thursday, April 16, outside of the … hotel where the organization’s president is staying,” wrote CHSPA.
CHSPA president Mikendra McCoy said, at first, she didn’t realize someone stole the truck.
“I walk outside and I think, ‘Oh, I thought I parked there. Well, maybe I’m losing my mind. I might have parked somewhere else.’ And I walked the whole premise and I don’t see the truck anywhere,” McCoy told KRON4.
Police later found the stolen box truck in Alameda County, but it had been ransacked and emptied by thieves.
McCoy said a police officer who helped find the truck told her, “There is nothing left. I see three ballpoint pens and a piece of wood.”
“I just sobbed,” McCoy said.
Despite the major setback, the speech debate champion will still be held this weekend at James Logan High School. CHSPA said it is accepting donations online to help replace stolen materials.