UPDATE: Thief Returns Wheelchair, Tells Mother He's Sorry
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ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) - An Arlington teenager now has his wheelchair back after the thief returned it in person.
Norma Morales said less than an hour after a story on CBS11 aired about her son's stolen wheelchair, she received a knock at the door.
Standing there was a man and the wheelchair.
Morales said the man told her he's sorry and thought the wheelchair was left out for scrap. He also told the Arlington mother he understands if she still wants to pursue criminal charges.
Morales said she won't. She's just thrilled her son's wheelchair is back.
ORIGINAL STORY: An Arlington mother said she can't imagine who would steal her son's wheelchair.
"Who would have the heart to take a wheelchair?" questioned Norma Morales. "He needs it."
Her son, 17-year-old Eduardo Morales, has cerebral palsy. Morales said his customized wheelchair is "his two legs."
Monday the family left the wheelchair in their front yard after loading Eduardo into the car.
Morales said they were just making a quick run to the store so she never thought twice about leaving the wheelchair outside.
However, when they returned, the wheelchair was gone.
Arlington investigators suspect a driver of a red pickup truck likely took it.
The red truck, pulling a makeshift wood trailer, was caught by a neighbor's security camera in front of the Morales' home the same time the wheelchair disappeared.
"This is the only vehicle seen going into the cul-de-sac during the hour it was taken," Sgt. Kreyton Paschall said.
The Arlington police department is asking for the public's help with identifying the owner of the red truck.
Several neighbors said they've seen the red truck in the neighborhood before. They said the driver is a local 'scrapper'.
Morales said she doesn't care who took it as long as they return it.
She said, "That's all I want is them to return it."
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