RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — This week, families all across the country are experiencing the bittersweet moment of taking their kids back to college but for one Michigan family, it’s been an absolute nightmare. After their son’s luggage fell off the car en route to college, a North Carolina basketball recruit now doesn’t have any shoes to play in.
Shayne Scruggs was recruited to play basketball on a full scholarship at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina.
On Sunday, Aug. 14, Scruggs and his parents were traveling 13 hours to North Carolina from Lansing, Michigan.
The family was headed southbound down I-95 in Virginia when Shayne Scruggs noticed something missing.
“He pulls over to the side and we were like, ‘What’s going on?’” said Shayne’s mother, Vanessa. “He goes, ‘You guys didn’t notice that the luggage carrier was gone?’ We’re like, ‘no.’”
Shayne’s black luggage carrier had flown off the car.
Anthony Scruggs and his son had both lifted the 300-pound bag and strapped it on top of their car before leaving.
“We have driven all over the country and we have never experienced anything quite like this before,” Anthony Scruggs said.
According to the family, Shayne’s bag is black, large and heavy.
“These are shoes that professional players wear. They cost anywhere between $200 and $300 a pair and he’s kept them in immaculate condition over the years,” Vanessa Scruggs said. “There’s thousands of dollars in that bag.”
Shayne Scruggs is 6-feet 8-inches tall and cannot purchase his shoe size off the rack easily. Beyond his sportswear, the bag also contained Shayne’s dress shoes and boots.
Surveillance video from a McDonald’s drive-thru in Warrenton captures the bag still on the car at around 12:40 p.m. Sunday. The family suspects they lost the bag after they left McDonald’s.
According to the family, the only shoes Shayne Scruggs has at this point are a pair of Crocs that he wore during the trip.
His parents told 8News that Shayne Scruggs went to practice discouraged on Monday and had to borrow shoes from another player.
“As a parent, that’s devastating for us. We don’t ever want to see our kids hurting,” Vanessa Scruggs said.
The family has been calling localities all over the state and has been searching for five days with no luck. They even were involved in a car accident on one of the days they were searching.
“We’re calling VDOT. We’re calling the Virginia State Police and every county we can think of because we’re not from this area,” Vanessa Scruggs said.
The Scruggs family told 8News that because these items are very personal, they will be offering a cash reward to anyone that finds the bag with the shoes inside and returns it.
They are not able to replace such a large volume of shoes. many were purchased as birthday and Christmas gifts.
Reach out to 8news with any leads or information.
