Local News in Brief : Orange : Wheelchair Stolen From Quadriplegic

Riverside police are investigating the theft of a $4,400 electric wheelchair from a quadriplegic.

“I can’t move without it,” said Ann McClellan, 30, of Orange. “I have a manual chair, but I can’t propel it myself. It’s extremely difficult without it. It’s like my life.”

McClellan on Tuesday gave the chair’s serial number to investigators in Riverside, where the theft occurred, but police said it is unlikely the chair will be recovered.

The thieves may have known someone who needed a wheelchair, or they may simply have taken it joy-riding, said Detective Dennis Rambo of the Riverside Police Department.

“They are pretty hard to sell,” Rambo said. “Any pawnshop or second-hand dealer will take a second look at that.”

McClellan said the thieves, who took the 400-pound chair when she left it locked at the bottom of the stairs at her fiance’s apartment, didn’t appreciate the situation it would leave her in.

“They must not have any feelings of self worth or concern for others,” she said. “It’s really amazing that someone could take something this important to someone’s life. It’s just pretty mean.”