Nine specialized racing wheelchairs stolen from a nonprofit organization last month have been recovered in an unexpected location – nearly 100 miles away in a foreclosed home’s garage.
The wheelchairs, belonging to The Agape Project, were discovered when a new property owner who purchased the foreclosed home at auction found them hidden in a back room of the garage.
Phil Smith, representing The Agape Project, drove to the Buena Vista Township property to verify the discovery.
“There was a second room in the back of the garage, our chairs were stacked in a pile back there,” Smith said.
The specialized Hoyt running wheelchairs are essential to the nonprofit’s mission of enabling people with disabilities to experience the thrill of racing.
While all wheelchairs were recovered, they didn’t emerge unscathed.
“Some of the parts were missing, some need to be replaced because they’re beat up,” Smith said.
The discovery came after the new property owner noticed traces of the organization’s logo beneath attempted removal marks on the chairs. “He could see our logo still embedded in the paint,” Smith said. “He did some research, saw the media stories, and realized it was stolen equipment.”
The thieves had apparently attempted to remove the organization’s branding from the chairs.
“In order to sell them, they wanted to take all of the signage off the chairs, and they ended up scrapping them up pretty badly to get our logo off,” Smith said.
Despite the damage, the Agape Project is moving forward.
They plan to repair the recovered wheelchairs and continue their mission.
In the meantime, another nonprofit, Ainsley’s Angels, has offered to share their wheelchairs so the Agape Project’s participants can compete in the upcoming Growler Gallop event at Atwater Brewery on Sept. 28.
The trailer used to transport the wheelchairs remains missing.
Police are still seeking information about how the wheelchairs ended up at the foreclosed property and the whereabouts of the stolen trailer.