HOUSTON – A one-of-a-kind painting that vanished after the artist took it to a UPS drop-off center to be shipped to a customer in California has since been recovered after KPRC 2 investigated the case.
The artist had been trying all week to find it but after KPRC got involved, it was found within minutes.
Alvin Roy has been an artist for more than fifty years.
“A lot of this is derived from my family and my relationships with indigenous people,” Roy said.
He says it took him a month and a half to create the missing piece titled ‘Jazz Africana’ worth about $8,000.
On Monday, he shipped it via UPS to the customer in California. It was supposed to be delivered in two days but it never got there.
Though the tracking number says it was held up at the Mykawa Road station, staff says it wasn’t there.
“How could it be in the same place for a week and nobody knows anything about it?” Roy asked.
He says he made multiple attempts to get in contact with someone at UPS who could give him an explanation.
“Now I was told that UPS is conducting an investigation, and I’m like ‘What’s the extent of your investigation? And why am I not being informed about what’s going on in your investigation?’” Roy said.
We reached out to UPS and about 20 minutes later got an email response and a phone call from UPS.
“Thank you for your inquiry. I’m happy to tell you this package is not lost but is delayed in transit due to the ice in Dallas last week. The package should be delivered by Monday of next week,” a representative said.
“That’s BS. That’s BS because those trains have been running since last week,” Roy said.
“On the one hand, yea, I am gratified. But I don’t think the painting would have been found if you [KPRC] hadn’t gotten involved.”
The UPS representative says the painting is currently on a train that recently left Yuma, Arizona.
Roy says his mind won’t fully be at ease until the customer signs for the package.
He also hopes this sends a message to UPS to find better ways to communicate with its customers.
He says through it all, he is grateful we stepped in to help.