Military family’s valuables in storage unit accidentally sold off while deployed overseas

The family said they didn't know until five weeks after their belongings were sold what happened.
Published: Jun. 6, 2025 at 8:01 PM CDT
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ENTERPRISE, Ala. (WTVY/Gray News) - A military family in Alabama says they are hoping for the return of their sentimental items after their storage unit was accidentally sold off.

Jimmy Wilson said the Army assigned him to a couple of years ago, so he, his wife Merriah, and their three children packed up their belongings.

The family also left some things behind, like family heirlooms and keepsakes, in storage.

“We put our lives in the storage units before we left overseas,” Merriah Wilson said.

The Wilsons thought everything was fine, but they said things turned out anything but fine. That’s because Mini Mall Storage’s Rucker Boulevard location reportedly mixed up the unit numbers during refurbishment.

According to the family, the storage facility sold off their unit after it was incorrectly numbered, with the business believing the bills hadn’t been paid.

The Wilson family said many things in the storage unit held great sentimental value, like items belonging to Jimmy Wilson’s grandfather, a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army.

The Wilsons said they didn’t know their belongings had been accidentally sold until five weeks after the auction.

Merriah Wilson said the storage facility is trying to make things right and has tracked down the person who bought the auctioned‐off unit.

The buyer promised to return the Wilsons’ belongings, minus a few things that have already been sold.

“I’m not going to feel relieved until I see every one of our items returned in its original condition to the facility,” Merriah Wilson said. “Because there was a lot of stuff and there has been a lot of time that has ed.”

While the Wilsons know they won’t get all their things back, they hope to have many of them returned next week.

Mini Mall Storage has not immediately responded regarding the situation.