‘It gave him a freedom’: Family pleads for thief to return bike to teen with special needs

GASTONIA, N.C. — Three wheels gave a 19-year-old with special needs a sense of normalcy that he’d never known.

But now his family is pleading for whoever stole this unique bike to return it.

The teen has autism and Down syndrome, and his mom told Channel 9′s Ken Lemon that he acted out at school Monday after learning someone stole the bike that he has come to rely on.

“It’s heartbreaking ... how do I explain why somebody would take his bike?” said Kathryn Lariviere.

Looking at Cameron Laviere on his bike, you see he lost more than a ride.

“It gave him a freedom that he’s never had,” Kathryn said.

She told us the $1,500 three-wheeled bike was specially adjusted for Cameron’s body, and it made him feel a little more like other kids his age.

“We didn’t have the money to buy one for him, so a friend of a friend donated it,” Kathryn said.

This weekend, someone went into the backyard of the family’s home in the Gardner Park community. The family found the tarp that covered their bikes lying flat on the ground.

“It’s gone. It was disbelief at first,” Kathryn said.

Cameron uses a device to translate his feelings. When he learned his bike was stolen, he used it to shout.

“He typed ‘bike, angry,’” Kathryn said.

The bike is useless for most adults. It doesn’t have brakes, and an adult walking behind controls the speed.

“We just want his bike back,” Kathryn said.

She said they don’t want to press charges, they just want the bike that they can’t afford to replace, the bike that he can’t afford to be without.

“I just want them to give it back to him and realize their need for it is not as great as his,” Kathryn said.

They’ve filed a police report, but loved ones are conducting their own investigation too, checking pawn shops and bike shops on the hunt for Cameron’s wheels.

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