For Maurice Strong, a Vernon man who uses a wheelchair due to brain and nerve damage, his specialized bike was an important mobility tool.
However, now that bike is gone.
It was stolen from outside his front door just before 4:00 Monday morning, and Strong is hoping tips from the public can help bring it back.
“I can’t use my legs,” said Strong. “The bike is pretty much my legs.”
“You’d really have to be looking for something in order to find his bike,” said Caitlin McKenny who works for the Vernon Native Housing Society, the organization that manages Strong’s residence.
“It was completely tarped and placed right in front of his door.”
Living with nerve and brain damage, Strong can’t drive and relied on his bike to get around, which was electric and set up to tow his wheelchair.
“He uses it for everything. He has traveled to Idaho with it for a camping trip; he is able to go anywhere that he is needing it with that bike,” McKenny said.
“Not having this bike is pretty devastating.”
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There is surveillance video of the theft that’s been passed on to RCMP.
Strong doesn’t have the money to replace the expensive bike, so he’s hoping tips from the public will bring it back in good condition.
Vernon RCMP said they are continuing to investigate the case but have no suspects.
Police said “extensive patrols” were made to look for the bike, but so far officers have not been able to recover it.