Some Oyama residents are hoping whoever took a defibrillator from the Oyama General Store overnight will return it.
The potentially life-saving device, meant to help bystanders respond in a medical emergency, went missing from its case overnight.
“It is just disappointing. It is there for everyone’s health,” store owner Cory Holland said.
“It is just kind of a sad thing to see somebody choose vandalism on something like that.”
The $2,000 defibrillator was purchased five years ago following a community fundraising dinner.
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Alan Gatzke was part of the fundraising effort to buy the device and said if it is not returned, the community will fundraise for a replacement.
The defibrillator is meant to be accessible 24/7 if someone has a medical emergency on the nearby beach, so it is not locked-up.
It went missing once previously but was dropped off on a sidewalk outside the store, roughly a week later, after a community appeal for information.
Gatzke and Holland don’t believe there is much of a resale market for the device and are hoping whoever took the defibrillator this time will once again bring it back.