'It's his legs': San Jose mom pleading for return of son's stolen custom wheelchair
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- A San Jose mom is searching for her son's stolen wheelchair.
Racheal Tiopan woke up Tuesday morning to a phone call from her neighbor that her SUV was broken into.
Tiopan said thieves broke into her car while it was parked outside her townhome in the Berryessa area around 5:15 a.m.
Her son Miguel's wheelchair was taken. Miguel has cerebral palsy.
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"The manual wheelchair is the only chair that I can be able to take him in, in my car to be able to get anywhere," Tiopan said. "It's his legs basically, so it's basically making him stuck."
Miguel's chair was custom-made.
"It's a red chair, it's the black seat cushion, and it has his nickname in the back which is Miko," Tiopan said. "Especially with how it has to fit him correctly with the harness cause he does shake, and he has a three-point straddle seatbelt and all that stuff."
Tiopan's electric scooter and Apple AirPods were stolen as well, but that's not what's making this mom of four upset -- it's the wheelchair.
"I was pissed off, I was pissed off, disbelief," Tiopan said.
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Since Tiopan's AirPods were stolen, she used the Find My app on her iPhone, which pinged her to a location less than a mile away.
"It's right there, and if it's right there so could my wheelchair be right there," she said. "I sent that information to the cops to see if they can do anything with it."
For 24-year-old Miguel, he just wants his wheelchair back.
"To get around," Miguel said.
During this week of giving, many people who heard about Tiopan's story on social media have offered to donate. But right now, Tiopan is focused on the chair.
"I don't care about anything else, you can leave it on Majestic Way for all I care - leave it somewhere put a post-it on it," Tiopan said.
People have asked if Tiopan will create a GoFundMe.
"I want to wait at least and see about maybe insurance will cover it, about a replacement, like I don't want to take people's money if I don't have to," she said. "I want to be able to hopefully just get his chair back, that's what I'm counting on just to get his chair back."
