Thieves steal youth group's money, personal items from van

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A Christian youth group from California is devastated after their van was broken into and robbed with their personal items.

Twenty-four teenager and young adults are now left with very little. The Christian youth group is from a church in Oakland, California and was excited about their first visit to South Florida. "We all come really excited, eager to receive what God gave us and all of this happened," said youth group member Christie Briseno.

The van the group rented was broken into while they were eating at Pollo Tropical located at 1805 South Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale, Thursday afternoon. "We are out here many miles away from home with no one to contact or ask for help," said Briseno.

The group said $12,000 in cash was stolen along with their luggage and ID's. They are devastated. "We all work really hard. Our parents and a lot of us work really hard for that money," said Briseno. "It was a lot of money that was stolen from us."

"We were so happy that we were gonna be here for five days, and now all our money that we had for the hotel rooms and to move around here it’s all gone," said group member Edenilson Bran.

One member was able to have some money wired transferred, and are now spending the night at a motel.

If you have any information on this robbery, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward.

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