Neighbors respond with kindness after teen with autism has bike stolen


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NORTH OGDEN — A young man lost his freedom earlier this week when somebody stole his bicycle. The 18-year-old has autism, and that bike was his link to the world away from home.

Joseph Garner used his bike to get to his job as a custodian at a nearby elementary school. When he discovered it had been swiped from his garage on Monday, he was crushed. But he's already back on the road again thanks to the kindness of people in his neighborhood

"It just makes me feel like I've got my independence," Joseph Garner said.

He says his bike meant a lot to him.

"I got it when I was 16 because I couldn't have a car because of my autism," he said.

His mother says they left the garage door open at the bottom to let the air flow through Sunday afternoon. Monday morning, the bike was gone.

"I was just really disappointed, and I wanted to have a word with the thief, and say, 'I want it back, please,'" Joseph Garner said.

His mother, Jolaine Garner, contacted the police and the local paper.

"The whole idea with the paper was just to just get the word out. Joe really wanted his bike back, and I was kind of mad as a mom," she said.

And people responded to the story.

"Within one day, I was floored," Jolaine Garner said.

At first, an envelope arrived with $55 along with a note.

"It said, ‘Joseph we think you're awesome. We all love you in this community, we are proud of you and here's some money,'" she said.

Garner says he was amazed and grateful.

"I was very surprised at how kind people were," Joseph Garner said. "They did not have to do this."

Two more gently-used bikes showed up in the driveway Friday morning.

"I had four bike offers, and then the two bikes given to me," he said.

That's taken some of the sting out of the theft.

"Good things come from unlikely places," Joseph Garner said. "It was bad that the guy stole my bike, but then it made me realize how nice people were around here."

With all of that generosity, he ended up with a couple of bikes he won't even need. His plan is to fix them up and offer them to a couple of other kids who could really use them.

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Jed Boal

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