Police recovered a mobility scooter, stolen from an 86-year-old Canadian air force veteran in West Vancouver, and returned it to its rightful owner on Tuesday.
The scooter, valued at about $3,500, was reported stolen on Tuesday morning to West Vancouver Police.
Vancouver Police Department patrol officers came across the report of the stolen scooter while working on a different investigation, according to Sgt. Aaron Roed, spokesman for the VPD.
Officers had reason to believe the scooter could be in the Downtown Eastside and conducted a careful search, on foot, in the area. The hunch proved correct. They found the scooter near Main Street and East Georgia Street.
“Our officers deal with crime on a daily basis, but when a vulnerable person is victimized, it really hits us hard,” said Roed in a press statement. “The victim served his country in the air force, and now, as a senior, the scooter was his only mode of transportation.”
After recovering the scooter, officers loaded it into a police vehicle and drove it to West Vancouver to return it to the owner.
The investigation into the theft is ongoing and no arrests have been made yet.
