$20,000 Wheelchair Stolen, Found, Police Search For 2 Suspects

By Jeff Todd

DENVER (CBS4)- Denver police are still looking for possibly two suspects who stole a unique and expensive wheelchair from a paraplegic man Thursday night.

"I had a knock on the door from a lady and she says, 'I noticed some people kind of playing with your cart. It seemed out of the ordinary I just wanted you to know,'" said Matt Farmen who noticed the chair when he got home from work. "So I flew down as fast as I could and when I got into the parking garage it was gone. Literally 10 minutes."

The chair is a Paramobile from the non-profit organization Stand-up and Play Foundation. Weighing in at 400 pounds and a more than $20,000 price tag the futuristic wheelchair has oversized tires and a robotic seat. It allows patients to stand up and play golf, but Farmen uses it for many activities.

"It allowed me to do activities with my friends. I would go golf with my friends, or go up to the mountains and camp. Sometimes I'll just get in it to stand and stretch. It's good for my rehabilitation," Farmen said.

"I was 11 years old in Bend, Oregon and I hit a tree sledding and I broke my back and I'm a T11 paraplegic," he said.

Around noon on Friday maintenance workers at Farmen's apartment complex found the wheelchair inside a trash room.

"It's in very good condition. It's how I had it. This is very great. I wasn't even thinking I was going to get it back," said Farmen.

He told CBS4's Jeff Todd he has a Saturday morning tee time and is excited to have his mode of transportation back.

But Matt says there are still criminals on the loose that could face felony theft charges, "I would love to catch them and love to secure this place better. I'm just happy to have it back now."

Denver police fingerprinted the wheelchair before returning it.

The apartment complex has told police they need to have a warrant in order to obtain the surveillance video. Detectives hope to release the information on the suspect early next week.

Jeff Todd joined the CBS4 team in 2011 covering the Western Slope in the Mountain Newsroom. Since 2015 he's been working across the Front Range in the Denver Headquarters. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Jeff.