Family seeks help after bike stolen from man with cerebral palsy

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - They don’t want your money; they just want your help to find something taken from them. And this isn’t the first time it’s been stolen.

Holly Mulherin says her uncle Collin has cerebral palsy.

“His body just doesn’t work right,” she said. “For whatever reason, when he gets on his bike, it’s smooth sailing. It’s something he’s able to do and he doesn’t have to struggle to do it.”

It was “smooth sailing” until last week. Holly says the bike was taken from Collin’s garage. He had just moved in, and she says over the years, this is not the first time he’s lost his bike to a thief.

“This is the fifth time that somebody has stolen his bike,” she says. “We’ve had it stolen out of sheds, out of backyards, he’s been assaulted, in a sense, robbed of his bike. He’s had hot pizza thrown on him and kids take off with it.”

She explains that the kind of bike he needs is an expensive one: an adult tricycle that can cost up to $800. But after purchase, it still needs to be modified.

“Normally, they come with a handheld brake. Collin cannot use those,” she says. “So, once we purchase the bike, we then have to pay more money to have a mechanism installed on it so he can pedal backward and use that as his brake.”

Holly says on two occasions, the community helped bring the bike home after it was stolen. She’s hoping that can happen again.

“I don’t want to take anyone’s money to go and buy him a new bike if I don’t have to,” she said. “Collin has had so many things taken away from him. So many things, from the moment he was born. We can’t give him back those things. We can give him back a bike.”

The family says they’ve also filed a police report. If you have seen the bike or know where it is, you can call Holly at 567-277-5701.

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