SHAWNEE, Ks. — A missing SUV is not how Caleb Bauer expected to start the holiday season, but that’s the situation he found himself in two weeks ago when someone stole his family’s tan colored 2016 Kia Sedona with a Kansas license plate number 984 PRC.

“Normally, I park right around here in one of these spaces, and it’s convenient because my apartment window is right behind us,” Bauer said.

However, his apartment complex needed to seal cracks in the parking lot, forcing him to park near the front entrance of Prairie Point Townhomes and Apartments on Friday, October 20.

“We’ve had a string of bad luck recently; just seems like we don’t get a break and then the car’s gone,” he said.

He and his wife have six children between the ages of one and eight. Their youngest has a heart condition, and the family just learned that he’s at a low threshold for seizures, meaning his brain is less resistant to them and making him more likely to suddenly start having seizures for no obvious reason.

Caleb’s wife is a stay-at-home mom and homeschools their children while Caleb works as a paraprofessional at Shawnee Mission West High School in the SPED Department.

After his SUV was stolen, Bauer said he asked his apartment complex for the surveillance video but was told they don’t have surveillance on the property, which contradicts a sign posted out front saying, “This property is protected by video surveillance.”

FOX4 did not see any security cameras on the property but did email Prairie Point asking if there were any on site. We did not hear back before this story’s deadline.

That SUV is the family’s only vehicle, and because they live paycheck to paycheck, they couldn’t afford full coverage.

“It hurts to have that taken from you after you’ve spent so long trying to get to it,” Bauer said.

His mother, Kimberly Bauer, first alerted FOX4 to the theft and said it’s hard not to be able to help her son.

“I look when I drive to work every day, watching the cars I pass, looking in parking lots hoping maybe we can find it,” Bauer said.

His 2016 Kia Sedona has a car seat, two booster seats, and tools inside of it. Some identifiable factors include a long scratch on the rear driver’s side wheel along with a Shawnee Mission staff sticker on the rear windshield.

“I hope if they see this that they find it in their heart to bring it back,” he said.

A GoFundMe is up trying to raise $12,500 to replace the vehicle. You can find the link here.