Novella Armstrong relies on her scooter to get around. But the Richmond senior, who lives with a disability, had her mobility further impaired after someone stole her motorized scooter from her Richmond building.
Armstrong recently moved into a retirement home near Granville Avenue and Moffatt Road. The facility has a locked scooter room inside a locked garage, but that wasn’t enough to deter someone from taking off with the scooter.
Armstrong noticed something was amiss on Monday morning as she was preparing to leave for her knitting club.
“First thing I noticed the scooter room door was open,“ Armstrong told CTV News. “I thought that was strange. Why was that open? Then I had a closer look and realized oh my God, they took my scooter.”
Not only is the scooter gone, but the thief or thieves also made off with a hand-painted cane. They did leave behind two flags — one Canadian, and one Norwegian — which Armstrong proudly displays on the back of her scooter.
“That upset me more than anything,” Armstrong said of finding the flags on the ground.
Armstrong has been using the scooter for about 10 years.
She was initially told the theft wouldn’t be covered by insurance, but has since been told it should be.
It’s unclear when Armstrong might get a replacement scooter, so for now she is forced to use a walker, severely limiting her ability to get around.
“I can’t walk very far, even with my walker,” said Armstrong.
The scooter is described red Celebrity XL3.
The facility where Armstrong lives says high quality surveillance video has been handed over to Richmond RCMP, which is investigating the theft.
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