Police Search for 'Despicable' Thief Who Stole 4-Year-Old's Wheelchair

>>Want more news? Get the daily Bowie email newsletter.

Even as police search for the thief who stole a four-year-old boy’s wheelchair, officers are also working with a nonprofit foundation to replace the badly needed device and a local resident has offered to donate a used wheelchair.

Prince George’s County Police on Friday released surveillance video that shows the suspect pushing the empty wheelchair in a parking lot. Authorities hope the public will recognize the suspect and help retrieve the boy’s equipment.

The victim’s mother has asked not to be identified, say police.

On Sunday night, as she typically does, the boy’s mother left the wheelchair in the lobby of their apartment building on Merrimac Drive in Langley Park. Police say it is easier for her to carry up her son, Joshua, up to their second-floor apartment. When the mother went to get the wheelchair Monday morning, it was gone.

“This family already faces challenges and shouldn’t be burdened with the emotional and financial stress of the theft of this wheelchair. The suspect we’re looking for has no heart,” says Captain Ken Humbel, commander with the Prince George’s County Police Department. “While our officers are working to arrest this thief, we’re also focused on helping Joshua. One of our commanders is in touch with a foundation which may be able to help with a replacement wheelchair.”

SEE ALSO

• Wheelchair Company Delivers for Havre de Grace Teen
• Manufacturer to Replace Havre de Grace Teen’s Missing Wheelchair
• HdG Police: Special Wheelchair Missing from Bay View Estates

Word of the family’s plight has spread on social media with the Twitter hashtag #HelpJoshua generating offers of financial donations and at least one donated wheelchair, the department said on its Facebook page.

A Prince George’s County woman has offered Joshua her used, customized wheelchair, similar to the one that was stolen, police say. The donor’s son outgrew the chair but she kept it, unsure what to do with it. Now she wants to give it to Joshua.

“#HelpJoshua is an example of the power of social media and that even when a despicable crime occurs, good people in our community will always step up and overshadow the bad,” the department says.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact investigators at 301-699-2601 or call Crimes Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS. A cash reward is being offered.

»Video of suspect in wheelchair theft, plus screenshot of 4-year-old Joshua, who needs his wheelchair, courtesy of Prince George’s County Police Department.