A trailer packed with nearly everything Los Hermanos Familia uses to stage one of Lubbock’s largest free family events disappeared from the nonprofit’s storage property in the early hours of Wednesday, Oct. 21. The group says insurance won’t cover what was inside, and it is now asking neighbors for monetary donations to rebuild.
The theft was first reported by Lubbock Lights and KCBD. Hub City UnCovered contacted Los Hermanos Familia by email, and the group replied with the donation details below.
What happened
Thieves hit the property, which sits near North Ash Avenue and Interstate 27, around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to both outlets. A surveillance image shared by the nonprofit shows a pickup pulling an enclosed trailer. It is stamped 3:38 a.m. on Oct. 21, and no license plate can be read. The trailer that was taken is black and enclosed, and it had a yellow boot locked on one wheel.
Christy Martinez-Garcia, the group’s founder, told Lubbock Lights the nonprofit had done “everything to make sure that our property is secure.” She said the security lights, the locks and the wheel boot were all cut. She called whoever did it “a skilled thief.”
Her husband, Frank Garcia, co-founder of Los Hermanos Familia, was the first to discover the loss when he arrived and found the gates standing open. “He panicked. He was just shocked,” she told Lubbock Lights.
What was inside
According to Lubbock Lights and KCBD, the trailer held:
- about 200 fishing poles
- tents, including a World War II-era tent the group has used since the first event
- tables, benches and lighting
- hydration and hand-sanitizer stations
- children’s games
- military branch flags, sponsor flags and flagpoles
Toys stored inside the building were not taken.
KCBD put the loss at about $18,000 including the trailer. Lubbock Lights reported an estimated $18,000 to $20,000 to replace everything.
“I don’t think they knew what was inside,” Martinez-Garcia told Lubbock Lights. She said the trailer itself isn’t what worries her. “We can always replace the trailer, but the content, that’s the hard part.”
Why it matters
The fishing event began with a family loss. According to Los Hermanos Familia’s website, Frank Garcia’s father, Gonzalo Garcia Sr., asked to go fishing with the whole family the day before he died. The couple organized the first “Vamos a Pescar” in 2009 to honor him and to give working parents a day with their kids.
The event is still free. Families need no fishing license and pay no registration fee, and lunch is free while it lasts. The site says attendance grew to almost 5,000 by 2019. This year’s 17th annual event was held Aug. 8 at Buddy Holly Lake, KCBD reported in July, and the nonprofit has already set Aug. 7, 2027, for the 18th.
“It took us 18 years … to collect all these tools to now have it all gone,” Martinez-Garcia told Lubbock Lights. “In a blink of an eye.” She said some families “started as kids that are now bringing their kids.”
She also told Lubbock Lights that some of the stolen equipment supports other programs, and that the group had been getting ready for its veterans parade and its Warm Hearts project.
The search for the trailer
Martinez-Garcia told Lubbock Lights the group is working with the Lubbock Police Department and collecting video from neighboring businesses. “We’re hoping that one of those Flock cameras might have caught something,” she said. That refers to the automated license plate reader network that is the subject of a citizen petition drive with an Oct. 30 deadline.
In her email reply to Hub City UnCovered, Martinez-Garcia summed up where the group stands: “We’re exhausted and we’ve done everything possible.”
Insurance won’t cover the gear
Lubbock Lights had reported that the nonprofit was working with its insurance carrier and that its board would decide whether to ask the public for help. “We try to do everything free, but we’re going to need help,” Martinez-Garcia told the outlet.
That decision has now been made. “Because our insurance will not cover the content of the trailer we are asking for monetary donations for the ‘Vamos a Pescar, Let’s Go Fishing’ Equipment Recovery Fund,” Martinez-Garcia wrote to Hub City UnCovered. The group is asking for money, not donated items.
Disclosure: Martinez-Garcia also represents District 1 on the Lubbock City Council, according to her city biography, which names her as the founder of Los Hermanos Familia.
How to help
- Give online: Donate through Los Hermanos Familia’s website at loshermanosfamilia.org/makeadonation.
- Give through the Community Foundation of West Texas: Designate your gift to the “Vamos a Pescar, Let’s Go Fishing” Equipment Recovery Fund. The foundation is at 6102 82nd St., #8B, Lubbock, TX 79424.
- Share what you saw: Anyone who saw a pickup towing a black enclosed trailer near North Ash Avenue and I-27 early Oct. 21, or who has security video from the area, is encouraged to contact the Lubbock Police Department.
We’ll update this story if police release new information.
Sources
- Email reply from Christy Martinez-Garcia, Los Hermanos Familia, to Hub City UnCovered, Oct. 23, 2026
- Lubbock Lights, Benji Snead, “18 years of work gone in a blink…,” Oct. 23, 2026: https://lubbocklights.com/18-years-of-work-gone-in-a-blink-thieves-cut-through-security-at-lubbock-nonprofit/
- KCBD, “Trailer stolen from Lubbock nonprofit…,” Oct. 22–23, 2026: https://www.kcbd.com/2026/10/23/trailer-stolen-lubbock-nonprofit-ahead-annual-fishing-event/
- KCBD, Julie Castaneda, “Noon Notebook: 17th Annual Vamos a Pescar…,” Jul. 14, 2026: https://www.kcbd.com/2026/07/14/noon-notebook-17th-annual-vamos-pescar-lets-go-fishing-event/
- Los Hermanos Familia, “Vamos a Pescar, Let’s Go Fishing”: https://www.loshermanosfamilia.org/vamos-a-pescar-let-s-go-fishing
- Community Foundation of West Texas: https://www.cfwtx.org/
- City of Lubbock, District 1 biography: https://www.mylubbock.us/862/District-1
- Save Lubbock petition site: https://savelubbock.com/
