A number of items stolen in an underground parking lot of a Ladner apartment complex in the overnight hours earlier this week included a custom-made hoist that was going to get a passionate boater back on the water.
Wayne Davis, who works for a medical equipment company, had poured hours of his free time into designing a special lift to get his dear friend onto his boat for the first time since he became a paraplegic three years ago.
Mike Hamill, owner of Tsawwassen Springs Fitness, was on a boating trip near Haida Gwaii when he was involved in the freak accident that broke his back in three places and crushed his spinal cord.
“It was a labour of love to help my friend,” said Davis. “Mike has a 25-foot boat which he hasn’t been able to go on ever since his accident. The whole idea was to build something to drive down onto the dock, basically a power chair based hoist with special lift attached to it. We were really looking forward to the summer and getting him on his boat.”
According to Davis, the break-in was captured by surveillance cameras and Delta police are investigating with a green Ford F150 being a vehicle of interest. The building is located near the Deas Slough.
“Guys were in masks with a truck. They also took bikes and a scooter,” added Davis. “I don’t even know how they even loaded it, given it weighs 450-to-500 pounds. It was also located tight, in front of a car and chained up.”
Davis is hoping the uniqueness of the hoist will make it easy to find on the re-sale market. The plan was to also make the hoist available to others confined to wheelchairs that wanted to go boating.
Anyone with information on the break-in or the hoist should call Delta police at 604-946-4411and refer to file number 20-29215.
