TANTALLON, NS – Michael Duffy never thought twice about leaving his daughter’s child-size ATV behind when his family and friends went riding on a familiar trail on New Year’s Day.
He said when his five-year old daughter, Ainsley, felt tired, they parked her ATV on the side of the road, a few minutes past the Bowater trails in Tantallon. Ainsley then rode with one of the adults in the group. Duffy said they were back a little more than a hour later, but the ATV was gone.
“I did take the key out of it but unfortunately somebody did pick it up and take it away,” said Duffy.
“My daughter was very upset, she was crying, and both my wife and I were very upset, and the group we were with couldn’t believe that someone would take a child’s ATV.”
“It’s bad enough that things get stolen but when it belongs to a child it’s even worse.”
The child-size ATV is a Z-Star brand, camo in colour, and has an oval shaped Canadian flag on the left rear fender.
Duffy said his daughter loves 4-wheeling and owned this ATV since she was four.
“It’s not so much about the 4-wheeler, but having to tell our daughter that somebody took her 4-wheeler is even worse,” said Duffy.
His wife agrees. Melanie said explaining the theft to her daughter was difficult.
“We were sad to lose the four wheeler but the hardest part was to tell her because she didn’t understand that somebody would really do a thing like that, and that’s not a lesson we want any five year old to have to learn, so we’re just hoping that something good can come from this,” she said.
Still, their five year old girl isn’t giving up hope. Ainsley was busy making missing posters on Friday. Her parents said they’ll put them up around the trail.
The parents say they reported the theft, they’re now asking anyone with information to contact the Tantallon RCMP detachment. As for those who took the ATV, the family is hoping they’ll have a change of heart.
“If they’d like to return it they can take it to any house on Eastwind or Everwood in Hammonds Plains,” said Melanie.
“We’re all a close community here and we really just like to have it back and I think that will be a great way to start the new year with a right rather than a wrong.”
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