PERRYSBURG, Ohio — Sandra Beauchamp needed contractors to do renovations to her Perrysburg home before she could sell it. But she said the contractors recommended to her by a close family friend didn't clean and pack up her house like they were supposed to.
Beauchamp claimed the contractors ran a flea market out of her Valley Lane home, selling some of her items along with theirs.
"Trying to find people and handymen to come work on the house was really hard," Beauchamp said. "People would come and give you quotes and then not come back."
The person she had considered to be a close friend told her the sooner her house was finished, the sooner it could be put on the market. She had already moved to Florida at the time and thought the renovation was a done deal.
But when Beauchamp's 19-year-old daughter discovered the flea market in September, she confronted the contractors who denied selling her things and went off the grid.
"If I take the value to replace the stuff it comes to about $15,000," Beauchamp said. "But the sentimental stuff is really the hard part. My husband is deceased and they sold all of his books ... those are things that my children wanted."
She reported the missing items to the Perrysburg Police Department. But without proof, it was deemed a civil disagreement.
"Based on statements, we can't charge anyone right now criminally so she will have to proceed with a civil liability. Unless we get more information, that's the route we will have to go," PPD officer Stephen Loar said.
While Beauchamp has come to accept that she likely won't see any of the items ever again, she is asking for anyone who bought anything from her home to come forward.
"I'm not looking for the stuff back, I realize it's gone and there's no replacing it," she said. "I need good citizens to come forward that bought my stuff so I can prove that it was sold."
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Perrysburg Police Department at 419-872-8001.
Loar said those who are considering renovating their home should look up the contractor on the Better Business Bureau's website.