Veteran's scooter recovered

by Slider Mon 10 Dec 2018, 8:30 am

Published on: December 9, 2018

The internet erupted with local outrage over the weekend with news that a brazen thief had made off with a new mobility scooter belonging to 96-year-old Brantford veteran Jim Miklos.
“It’s been shared about a gazillion times on social media,” said Carole Miklos, about the scooter her father recently received from Veteran’s Affairs.
The vehicle was recovered by police Sunday evening, stripped of it’s canopy.
Miklos’s aging father was in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany during World War Two and was a member of the elite First Canadian Parachute Battalion that played a major part on D-Day.
Recently pictured on the front page of the Expositor with his granddaughter at the Brantford Remembrance Day services, Miklos went to shop at Zehrs on Fairview Drive on Saturday.
He and his wife of 72 years, Margaret, both rode mobility scooters over to the store around 2 p.m. from their nearby home.
Still becoming accustomed to the vehicle, Miklos forgot to remove the ignition key when he went inside and when the couple returned, his scooter was gone.
“I couldn’t believe it!” he said Saturday.
“I was asking people sitting on a nearby bench if they had seen anyone take it and they ran in and got the manager of the store.”
Miklos’s distinctive scooter is a maroon Orion model that’s was upgraded with a roof and zip-up walls that encase the rider.
“I figure it’s not going to get lost that easy and the batteries will only last so long,” Miklos said before it was recovered. “If it’s not found within a couple of days I’ll call Veteran’s Affairs and ask what to do.”
The theft was reported to police who checked security footage from the plaza.
Late Sunday afternoon, Mike Taylor, of Port Street, reported to police he had found the scooter, with its canopy stripped, in his yard.
Miklos identified her dad’s vehicle and said the missing parts are valued at about $1,500.
“Dad is very thankful” to have it back, she added.
A Facebook posting by Miklos has been shared and re-shared hundreds of times with many people expressing outrage.
“Shame on whoever took it!” said one woman.
“Think if this was your grandfather who needed assistance! He served for your country!”
Carole Miklos said her father felt sick about the incident.
She spent much of her weekend driving around looking for the vehicle, especially after several people reported seeing the uncommon scooter near the downtown about an hour after it went missing.
Miklos had predicted someone took the scooter for a joy ride, and might have planned to sell it online or pawn it.

https://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/news/local-news/veterans-scooter-recovered