Jason Dorshorst thought somebody ripped off his $4,000 wheelchair in broad daylight while he washed his pickup truck. It turns out that a good Samaritan took it to keep it from being stolen.
Dorshorst, 26, of Plover, washed his vehicle Monday at Speedy Clean Car Wash. He left the custom-made wheelchair outside the business so it wouldn't get wet during the six-minute cleaning.
It vanished in that short time.
"My first thought was, 'Why would somebody ever do that?'" said Dorshorst, who was injured in a 2003 motorcycle accident and needs a wheelchair to complete day-to-day tasks. "I've never heard of anyone's wheelchair disappearing."
He added, "It's pretty low for somebody to do that."
But Plover Policeman Brent Thauer said Wednesday the chair wasn't stolen.
A woman who arrived at the car wash while Dorshorst was inside saw the chair and assumed it was lost or abandoned, he said. Her father works with disabled people, and she grabbed the chair hoping he could find the rightful owner, Thauer said.
The father saw news reports of the alleged theft, realized what happened and contacted police, Thauer said.
"It's good to know there are people around who do the right thing," the officer said.
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