A Lawndale family needs help identifying a man who allegedly stole a special tricycle from a little girl with a rare neurological condition.
Security camera footage shows the man stealing the tricycle from Elisabeth Booth’s porch early Thursday morning.
“I was shocked. I was sad,” Booth said.
Booth said her 7-year-old daughter Alli often uses the tricycle to get around the neighborhood and to nearby parks.
“I don’t know what kind of low person you have to be to take the adoptive tricycle of a child with special needs,” Booth said.
Alli has a rare neurological disorder called KCNMA1, which is associated with channelopathy. The disease causes epilepsy, dyskinesia, developmental delay, and speech and motor problems. Booth’s daughter was also diagnosed with autism and is non-verbal.
“She has very weak lower extremities,” Booth said. “We’ve been working with physiotherapists all her life to try to build muscle tone in her legs, and the bike is the perfect way to get her to do that.”
The bike also helps strengthen Alli’s legs so she can run better. Booth purchased the used bike more than three years ago for $1,700 and currently cannot afford a replacement.
“We just have to walk for now until someone identifies who took the bike and we can get it back,” Booth said.
The security video shows a dark van driving past the house before parking on the street corner. A man gets out and walks to the family’s driveway. He takes the bike and runs away with it before throwing it in the back of his van and driving away.
‘Bring him back. He is needed. She loves her bike. She misses her bike. Take him home,” Booth said.
Booth said she filed a police report. However, police have not arrested anyone yet. She hopes anyone who sees the video and may recognize the man or the van and identify him to police.
