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DRAPER — Friends and family of Beth Fisher gathered for a second time to have a unique send-off Sunday night. Even though their friend wasn’t in attendance, the funds they are raising will help her more than she knows.
After her last going-away party Monday, Fisher awoke to discover that her Subaru Legacy Outback and moving van, containing all of her belongings, had been stolen from outside her hotel — right before she left Utah for a new job in West Virginia.
The same crowd gathered again to show their friend their support.
"She's a great friend to all of us,” said Jeff Gerrard.
Although Fisher didn’t attend the party, photos of her filled Leatherheads Bar and Grill.
"We want to make sure Beth still knows we're here,” said Talyse Francisconi. “We're still supporting her even though she's on her way to West Virginia."
The group of AirMed pilots, nurses and paramedics are raising money to help their co-worker and friend.
"We all respond to one another if need be, especially in time of crisis," said another friend, Jason Brown.
“I know I was feeling just devastated at how somebody could do that," said Marcie Mehl. “But for every person you have like that, there's a hundred people that stepped up to help from AirMed, from Life Flight, total strangers that came out to help her out."
Wednesday morning, Fisher’s moving truck was found on fire in Salt Lake City. Little could be salvaged. Friend Brett Hutchings said she lost more than just clothes and furniture — mementos from her father.
"She had her father pass away this past summer,” Hutchings said.
Though her friends echo that she's resilient and moving forward, they say she has no idea what they've done Sunday night.
"She's going to smile and she's going be a little mad at us that we're still making a big deal out of it,” Francisconi said.
They look at the event as an even bigger deal than the Super Bowl because they believe that's what you do when you're family.
“We're a family,” Brown said. “We can be a dysfunctional family at times, but we do look at each other as family, and when we're on duty, that's who we watch out for."
They've also created a GoFundMe account to help replace Fisher's destroyed property.
