A 12-year-old St. Albert boy with autism and mobility issues has his specialty bike back after it went missing last week.
Caleb Cenek and his mother, Andrea, took the dogs for a walk last Tuesday and noticed the bike, which was typically parked outside the front of their house, was gone.
His family had bought him the Mobo Triton three-wheeled cruiser to help him with his balance.
After it went missing, the family was told the bike was on back-order. Andrea Cenek told Global News she was worried he would be without a bike for the summer.
Then, on Wednesday, the doorbell rang at 1 a.m.
“[My husband and I] got up to answer it, opened the door and what’s sitting there? Caleb’s bike,” Cenek said on Wednesday. “Somebody dropped it off. My husband went out to look if he could see anyone, but nobody was around.”
Cenek said it’s hard to say exactly what led to the bike’s return.
“Obviously it was someone who knew us or the person who took it. How else would they know where to return it to?” Cenek said. “It was [gone for] a week. So, it’s been on some adventures, I guess.”
The return of the bike means Caleb, who has a gross motor delay, will be able to get moving again.
“It was the one thing that would get him to go outside. We could always get him to go outside and ride his bike. It will get him back outside again.”
Edmontonians responded to Caleb’s situation with an outpouring of support. A fundraiser put together by radio station K-97 raised more than enough money to buy him a new, adult-sized trike that he can grow into.
The radio station hopes to give the new trike to Caleb by next Monday or Tuesday.
Watch below: An Alberta family is upset after a special bike for a 12-year-old boy with autism and mobility issues was stolen from their St. Albert yard. Kim Smith has more. (Filed Monday, July 16, 2018).
With files from Kim Smith, Global News.