Someone stole a tricycle from a Kamloops teen with autism

A Kamloops boy who has autism has had his tricycle stolen, and his mother is hoping the public can help her track it down.

Bobbie Tinline‘s son, Owen, 17, lives on his own in the North Shore area of Kamloops, but he has staff to help take care of him. Owen’s tricycle isn’t just for fun, it’s also part of his physiotherapy.

“Owen is non-verbal, I like to say he’s forever three. He’s also in leg splints, and the trike helps lengthen his tendons, along with the surgeries,” Tinline said.

Staff told her that Owen was taken inside the house to adjust his splints before going for a ride, but within that short window, the tricycle was stolen from the back yard.

“He has three things: a big swing, a trampoline and his trike,” she said. “He can’t wrap his head around why someone would steal it, but we’ve been doing our best to keep him distracted.”

Bobbie feels that she’s seen bike thefts increasing in Kamloops. She patrolled the North Shore to try and track down the missing tricycle somewhere in the area, but she isn’t sure what she’d do even if she’d found it.

“What am I going to do? I’m not going to fight this guy,” she said.

From April 19 to May 9, there have been 11 bikes reported as stolen to Kamloops RCMP. 529 Garage, the bicycle theft reporting tool, currently lists 27 bikes as stolen around Kamloops, with the earliest dating back to Feb. 16, 2021.

“He’s had a couple meltdowns, which turns to self-injurious behaviour and injuries to staff. He doesn’t know how to react,” she said.

She said that the company that staffs Owen’s home will replace the bike if it’s not found, but for $800, Bobbie said she would prefer to see the original returned to her son.

“There’s a $100 reward if it’s returned but it’s the fact he can’t feel safe in his home. We can put up surveillance, but do we want to live like that?”

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