An athlete vying for a spot on Canada’s Paralympic wheelchair basketball team has reason to cheer after his stolen specialized chair and vehicle were recovered from a parking lot in northwest Calgary .
Dalten Campbell’s Dodge Magnum wagon was stolen from the parkade of his residence in Inglewood early Saturday morning. Along with the car, the thief or thieves fled with Campbell’s wheelchair.
On Tuesday morning, Campbell was contacted by the Calgary Police Service after a pastor in Crescent Heights recognized the stolen vehicle in the church’s parking lot. The pastor parked his own vehicle in front of the Dodge Magnum to ensure it could not be moved before calling police.
A CPS constable notified Campbell of the discovery. "He told me that my basketball chair was in the back and I almost hopped up and started dancing," Campbell told CTV Calgary in an interview in Inglewood on Tuesday afternoon.
Campbell was ecstatic to be behind the wheel of his car again with his chair secured. "I'm just so stoked to have these back. Even just a couple days was breaking by heart."
After being reunited with his chair, Campbell can resume his efforts on making Canada’s national wheelchair basketball team ahead of the 2020 Summer Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. "I'm still on cloud nine. I'm so glad that I have the opportunity to really go out and showcase my best abilities in camp come July 26."
According to Campbell, his wheelchair was without damage and felt the same as it had prior to the theft.
With files from CTV’s Bill Macfarlane
