A 20-year-old man’s $8,000 prosthetic leg was stolen from his car on December 8 in downtown Portland, Oregon.
Atticus Root had worn the prosthetic leg since he was 14 after an amputation due to bone cancer, NBC News reported Friday.
His uncle, Joshua Veldstra, said thieves broke into his car and took the prosthetic leg, saying, “He seems to have a pretty good attitude, or at least he’s trying to maintain a good attitude about what happened. But it’s a horrible thing. I mean, who steals a prosthetic leg?”
His family has since raised about $12,000 to get a replacement and police are offering up to $2,500 in a cash reward via Crime Stoppers of Oregon for information leading to the original prosthetic’s recovery.
The GoFundMe page created by Veldstra has raised $11,960 to replace the stolen property.
It is important to note that Portland has for quite some time suffered from rampant crime and issues with homelessness. Click here to read more articles on the subject.
Root was eating dinner with friends in downtown Portland when the alleged theft occurred, and Veldstra said the young man was using his spare prosthetic at the time. He said the thieves were able to pop open the trunk and took the prosthetic and his work bag he uses as a welder.
“It’s super important for his work too, because he didn’t have to use crutches and was able to use both hands. But now everything is harder again,” Veldstra stated.
In 2023, a couple traveling from Grand Rapids, Michigan, experienced two break-ins when they reached Democrat-controlled Portland, Breitbart News reported at the time.
“The couple spoke with a parking garage worker, but the man laughed and said those things happen regularly, which did not give Adrian and Eleora an ounce of confidence,” the outlet said.
The article noted that families in Portland had reportedly been relocating due to homelessness and crime in the area.