Stranded traveler back in Kansas

Thursday, May 25, 2023
Local mechanic Steve Marchbanks makes a suprise visit to Beyond Homeless to give a stranded Kansas woman back her van keys after making repairs to her transmission.
Courtesy Beyond Homeless

The story of a traveler stranded in Putnam County came to a happy and unexpectedly early ending this week.

More than two weeks after her van broke down along Interstate 70 near Cloverdale, the unnamed Kansas woman got the keys to the vehicle back on Tuesday and was soon back in her home state getting settled in.

“She left Tuesday morning, and we made sure she had a destination when she got there,” Beyond Homeless Inc. Executive Director Lea Durbin told the Banner Graphic.

The woman’s plight first came to the public’s attention when the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office posted her story on Facebook on May 5.

Having turned over much of her money to an online scammer, the woman had packed up and attempted to relocate to the east coast to be with the man who said he loved her.

When she attempted to return to Kansas, she initially encountered car trouble in Philadelphia before her transmission went completely kaput in Putnam County.

After the Banner Graphic published her story in the May 12 edition, Durbin began hearing from people wishing to donate money, as well as a local mechanic who wanted to donate his talent.

“The day after the article appeared in the Banner Graphic, Steve Marchbanks contacted the shelter and volunteered to pick up the transmission assembly,” Durbin wrote in a social media post, “and then donated his time and labor to get her van running.”

On Tuesday, Marchbanks and his wife paid a surprise visit to the shelter to give the van back. The traveler had anticipated staying in Greencastle at least another week.

Durbin got emotional when describing the way her eyes lit up upon receiving the keys.

“She made me cry like three times before she left that day and made my staff cry too,” Durbin said.

She had great things to say about the man whose work made it possible.

“Marchbanks did an amazing job on getting the van ready in record time,” Durbin said.

Durbin also had kind words for the community whose outpouring made so much of it possible.

“There aren’t enough words to express our gratitude to the many community members who provided financial contributions to ensure the costs of repairs to her van were covered and provide additional funds for her to travel back home,” Durbin wrote. “One stranded traveler learned what a warm, caring and generous community we have. We learned that simply lending a hand in times of need is one of the easiest, yet most impactful, things we can do.”

Beyond Homeless even got the traveler set up in an ADA-compliant hotel in Kansas as she begins the task of rebuilding her life there.

“She’s back home and very, very appreciative of everything we did,” Durbin said.

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  • makes me proud to be from Putnam County. Great story!

    -- Posted by aadt3321 on Thu, May 25, 2023, at 9:01 PM
  • Who does Mr. Marchbanks work for? He sounds like the type of mechanic I'd like to know.

    -- Posted by Ben Dover on Thu, May 25, 2023, at 9:14 PM
  • We will miss you so much. Glad you made it home safe. Thank you Mr.Marchbanks for your kindness and generosity.

    -- Posted by Queen53 on Fri, May 26, 2023, at 10:29 PM
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