The Abbotsford Police Department has penned a strongly worded public letter to a thief who not only stole a 65-year-old woman’s mode of transportation, but her independence.
“As you may recall, on the night of November 30, 2019, you entered a garage in the 33300 block of Wren Crescent in Abbotsford. Once inside, you noticed a shiny red mobility scooter, and decided to cowardly steal it,” the letter reads.
“What you didn’t know was that the owner, a 65-year-old Abbotsford resident, suffers from [multiple sclerosis].”
When Doreen McMillan woke up the morning after to find her scooter had been stolen out of her garage, which had been left open by mistake, she said it was “very disturbing and upsetting.”
“It took away my freedom. It took away my ability to get around and do things on my own,” McMillan said.
“I had to depend on my husband or my children for them to find the time to take me to different places … It’s hard on me having to ask people because I value my independence very much.”
The thief also made off with her helmet, Olympic mittens and a cane she uses that once belonged to her grandfather.
McMillan said she made the decision to stop driving two years ago “for the safety of me and everyone else” after she lost the ability to move her feet well.
While the Shoprider Trailblazer scooter – which costs thousands of dollars – was covered under her house insurance, she still ended up paying hundreds out of her own pocket for a new scooter.
The Trailblazer has a “Honk if you love Neil Diamond” sticker and a Canucks sticker on the rear bumper.
On a more positive note, after spending an isolating two weeks without mobility, McMillian said she was impressed with the customer service at Scooter City in Port Coquitlam, after they brought out a selection of scooters to her house for her to choose from.
“You just don’t hear about that kind of customer service anymore. I commend them very much for the service they gave me.”
Abbotsford Police are requesting that anyone who sees the scooter or has information about its location call the non-emergency line: 604-859-5225.
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