Generous folks replace stolen tricycle, add lock

Ce’Nedra Thorpe, 11, has rediscovered happiness. And she has a new lock to go along with it.

Her special-order, adult-size tricycle – she described it simply as “happiness” – disappeared last Wednesday night, much to the dismay of the girl with cerebral palsy, who uses a wheelchair.

But thanks to some caring hearts, she’ll ride a new turquoise tricycle by the end of the week. Worried readers inundated Jeannine Thorpe, the single mother of four children including Ce’Nedra, with calls after The Spokesman-Review ran a story Saturday about the theft. Offers – as well as checks – arrived for replacing the tricycle, helping with food and physical therapy, and more.

“I thought it (the tricycle) wasn’t going to come back to me,” said Ce’Nedra, who will start fifth grade at Finch Elementary School this fall. “I never knew that people could do that much.”

Autumn Cover is one of those people. After hearing about the story, she called her brother, a manager at Wheel Sport East in Veradale. Cover and her husband, Sam, are paying for the new tricycle, and Wheel Sport East, 606 N. Sullivan Road, is selling the tricycle at the dealer price, as well as covering shipping and assembly.

“(The theft) was just out of malicious meanness, and it just broke my heart that someone would do that,” Cover said. “Bad things shouldn’t happen to good people.”

The new tricycle arrived at the store Tuesday morning and will be presented to Ce’Nedra once it’s assembled and fitted.

Thorpe said the theft last week rattled her sense of safety in her North Side home.

“This is my home, and a boundary had been crossed,” she said. “But the community response really gave back that feeling of safety and a piece of my home. You don’t know you have that many people watching out for you, and you do.”

One family stopped by the Thorpe house to deliver a card, a new shackle lock and a $50 Wal-Mart gift card. Another man called and offered to pay for Ce’Nedra to receive hydrotherapy on top of her twice-weekly physical therapy.

“It just goes to show that for the little bit of bad in Spokane, there’s much more good,” Thorpe said. “You went from feeling so down and betrayed to feeling so taken care of.”

Ce’Nedra, who stayed busy the past week by swimming and writing a story about her stolen tricycle, said she’s looking forward to riding her new tricycle as often as possible.

“We’re probably going to pull it out every day,” her mother said. “And what are we going to do with it once we’re done?”

“Lock it up!” Ce’Nedra yelled, before revealing a huge smile.