Published: August 28, 2008 10:15 am      

Wheelchair Theft

Police say girls took device for joy ride, but it’s not where they say they left it

CUMBERLAND — As a three-year resident of the Queen City, Jolene Griffieth said she has had nothing but positive experiences. That is, until recently, when her wheelchair was stolen from her Frederick Street residence.

“The wheelchair — that’s my legs. That’s my mobility. That’s my life. I think it’s a shame what they have done,” said the 33-year-old Illinois native who was born with cerebral palsy.

“I’m not confined. I am a wheelchair user. I have been using mobility devices all my life,” she said.

On Sunday, two city girls, ages 11 and 13, observed Griffieth’s electric-powered wheelchair parked in a first-floor laundry room at the apartment building where Griffieth resides. The girls apparently entered through an unlocked door to remove the wheelchair.

“They took it for a joy ride,” said Cumberland Police Capt. Kevin Ogle. “Where the girls said they left the wheelchair, it’s no longer there.” The device was last seen at the corner of Knox and Columbia streets.

Police said one of the youths has been charged with larceny theft over $500 and charges are pending against the other youth.

Meanwhile, Griffieth would like to get another wheelchair. “I’m looking into that but without a wheelchair, I can’t even get to the police station to get a copy of the police report on the theft. I need that for my insurance to get another one,” said the Southern Illinois University graduate, who has a master’s degree in recreational therapy.

Griffieth, a former special needs camp director in Waldorf, is now undergoing employment training at the ACS company in Frostburg. She relies on All-Trans bus service for her daily transportation. She is also reliant upon a manual wheelchair once she arrives at her workplace in Frostburg Plaza.

“I can push myself around here at work but the floors are carpeted and it’s difficult,” she said.

“I really think these juveniles that took my chair should really have to think hard about what they have done.

“They should be sentenced to some meaningful community service,” she said. “It’s really a hateful crime. It makes my life much more difficult.”

Griffieth wonders if the theft could have been avoided. “If I had a more accessible residence, maybe this would not have happened.”

Cumberland Police said the wheelchair has not yet been recovered and Wednesday, officers were reminded at roll call to keep on the lookout for the wheelchair.

“We’ve been looking for it desperately,“ said city police Sgt. Jay Cochrane, shift supervisor, late Wednesday morning.

The wheelchair is blue with a black seat and a black head rest. It also displayed the sticker “Life is good.”

At Chesapeake Rehab Equipment, operations manger Karla Harman said the stolen wheelchair, purchased by Griffieth for $5,246, is “custom rehab equipment.”

“Wheelchairs are not an off-the-shelf item. Measurements are taken and the seat is made specifically for the user,” said Harman.

In the eight years Harman has been with the company, she recalls only one other wheelchair theft in Hagerstown, where the wheelchair was recovered after the theft was in the news.

“I think it’s sad. It’s a mean thing to do to a disabled person. Those of us who are not disabled take our health for granted. But to a disabled person, the wheelchair is their means of mobility,” she said.

Cumberland Police urge anyone with information about the theft or location of the wheelchair to call the department at (301) 777-1600.

Contact Jeffrey Alderton at jlalderton@times-news.com.