Special bike belonging to teen with autism stolen from backyard of Delaware home

NEW CASTLE CO., Delaware (WPVI) -- A mom in New Castle County, Delaware is hoping for the public's help after she says two teens stole her son's adaptive tricycle last week.

Paula Broody says the crime happened last Thursday. She had been driving home on Governor Printz Boulevard when she says she witnessed two juveniles riding away from her home.

The teens were riding bikes belonging to both her and her 19-year-old son, Bryce.

"This bike, it was built for Bryce so we can work on safety, awareness, social skills, and give him the opportunity to do some type of sport with us," she said.

The teen has autism and the nonprofit Preston's March for Energy gifted him the bike in 2018.

"It was easy to pedal for him, easy to control the bike and again, learn coordination," she said.

She says when she saw the teens on her son's bike, she pulled over and confronted them.

"I hit the horn and they dropped the bikes and run away," she said.

Broody said she then hid the bikes in the bushes, and went home to get a trailer to transport them.

"By the time I come back to the main road, Bryce's bike was gone," she said.

New Castle County Police are investigating, but Broody says she's not even interested in pressing charges. She just wants her son's bike back.

"It was a really cool bike that people would actually approach him and say 'Hi Bryce! How you doing?' Things like that. So it gave him the opportunity to be part of the community," she said.

As police continue to look for the bike, there is some good news here. The non-profit that originally gifted Bryce the bike is going to build him another one soon.