EUREKA, Calif. -- On New Year's Day, members of the Humboldt County Special Olympics arrived to work noticing their storage facility had been burglarized with dozens of items and equipment being stolen.
"We keep all of our supplies and uniforms and equipment in a storage unit like most people, and we had a break in on New Year's Day at about 1 a.m., and unfortunately they got into there," said Humboldt County Special Olympics Coach, Mark Wheetley. "They clipped the lock off, and then they stole probably $5,000 to $10,000 worth of equipment, including uniforms, batting helmets, our pop-up tents which we use for tournaments, our travel bags, other equipment and they also stole our torch."
A theft like this is a significant loss for an organization that provides a safe environment for disabled people. The items that were stolen includes sports equipment, uniforms, swimming gear and vital supplies including first-aid kits.
On Sunday night, law enforcement found their torch behind Bayshore Mall.
"I was shocked that the torch was thrown into the bushes and the officers retrieved it, and sure enough, it's got Humboldt Special Olympics engraved on it so that is our torch," said Wheetley.
Due to the theft, the organization is now in need of funds to replace the stolen items and has appealed to the community for assistance through donations, sponsorships, or just spreading the word.
A GoFundMe account has also been set up to help the organization recover.
"It was extremely unfortunate, and not a great way to start the new year and we were a little surprised that we had been burglarized," said Wheetley. "I don't know if the perpetrators targeted Special Olympics per se, but I think they just were opportunistic and they broke in and took whatever they could grab and just drove off."
We reached out to the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office for additional details and information and are waiting to hear back.
This is an on-going investigation, more details will be provided as soon as it becomes available.