A Burnaby family is hoping the public can lend a hand in helping find a van outfitted with special needs equipment that was stolen from their home last week.
The special van, a GMC worth about $40,000 and equipped with an electronic wheelchair ramp, was apparently stolen sometime between 1:30 and 6:30 a.m. Friday morning from a home on Winlake Crescent, according to family members.
Wendy Cruden told the NOW the van belongs to her husband’s aunt, who has been taking care of an adopted son and daughter who both have mobility issues and rely on wheelchairs.
She said the van was used by the adult children for appointments and school, and the family is devastated by the loss.
Cruden said she and her husband parked by the van early Friday morning, and within a few hours it was gone. The family reported the theft to Burnaby RCMP. The vehicle also had GM’s OnStar security feature that could help track the van, but the service wasn’t activated.
Cruden said insurance is currently covering a replacement van, but it can only fit one of the children at a time. The family will have to get a new van with all new equipment if the stolen one isn’t returned.
“My heart hurts,” she said. ”It’s a horrible thing to have happened when you need it for these kids.”
Cruden noted the house and vehicle are not the easiest to find, and she suspects the thief or thieves knew what they were looking for when they took the van.
“I just think it’s bizarre, we don’t really know who took it or why,” she said, adding the van also contained portable ramps. “Anyone that has a heart, even if they didn’t know that was in the back once they saw it, you might have thought they said, ‘oh my God, what have I done,’” she said.
The family is asking anyone who might come across the van to call Burnaby RCMP.
