When Melissa Hadley’s 20-year-old son Tyler died unexpectedly back in July, a friend approached her about setting up a GoFundMe campaign to help her out with funeral expenses. Being caught up in her grief and unable to even think of such things, Hadley was happy for the help. That effort quickly raised $4500 in just a week.
But now the Yakima, WA woman tells local station KIMA she’s only seen $2500 of the funds raised through the GoFundMe page, and attempts to have her friend transfer the money to her bank account have been met with radio silence.
“It’s like getting punched in the stomach over and over when you’re already as low as you can go,” she told KIMA. “Tyler was my only child and he was the light of my life and so to know that people gave him a gift and then somebody took it is really heart-wrenching.”
Police in Yakima are investigating, however charges — if any — will be pursued by police in Pierce County, where the GoFundMe campaign organizer lives.
“Really the victims are the people that gave with the intent of helping with the funeral expenses and the money is then used for something else,” Yakima Police Spokesperson Mike Bastinelli said.
We were unable to find even a cached copy of the fundraiser. A post-mortem analysis to determine Tyler’s cause of death is underway.