By Shannon Lukens.

 

For several weeks now, two people in neon yellow vests have been standing at the light at Pine Grove Road and Central Park Drive. They are each holding signs that say “Donation for Alex. He was diagnosed with cancer & needs surgery. God Bless you.” I stopped by to ask them about Alex.

The one man had a badge on that said “Cristian O” and then “Employment for Donation,” in misspelled words. The man immediately said he doesn’t speak English and that he speaks Italian. He showed me a QR code where money could be donated directly to Alex. He and the woman he was with each had trick-or-treat pumpkin heads full of cash at the intersection behind Central Park Plaza. She left immediately when I started asking questions.

 

He called someone on his phone who could translate. She said she was Alex’s mother. I asked where she lived and she said she lived in Colorado, specifically Denver. She said Alex is in Istanbul, with his father.

 

I asked why people in Steamboat Springs would be sending money to a child that supposedly has cancer in Istanbul. She said it was to support her family.

I called the number on the poster. No one answered. You had to leave a message. I did not.

There was a picture of a young man on their poster, that they said was Alex. People sent us pictures and posts of another boy named Alex with cancer. We found similar pictures of the Alex on their poster with the other boy named Alex on the Caring Bridge website and on other social media sites. Those sites said Alex was from Bedmiji, Minnesota, and the last post made for him was from last April. He did have cancer, but he isn’t living in Istanbul. We reached out to his family and sent the picture on the poster to confirm it is the picture of their son. We have not heard back.

We also spoke with Steamboat Springs Police Chief Sherry Burlingame who said the people on the corner collecting money are allowed to do so, as long as they aren’t in the street.

Because of the language barrier, I could not get confirmation of other details. With help from the woman on the phone, they said they are Italian and they are helping their family and a relative named Alex who lives in Istanbul, Turkey, by collecting money at an intersection in Steamboat Springs.