St. Clair has his wheelchair back

LACONIA — Almost a week to the day after it was stolen, the wheelchair belonging to Charlie St. Clair was was found Thursday in undergrowth behind the Subway outlet on Union Avenue and taken to the police station.

St. Clair, the executive director of the Laconia Motorcycle Week Association, suffered severe injuries to his left leg and right hand when the motorcycle he was riding to the annual mega-rally in Sturgis, South Dakota struck a deer in Nebraska. After undergoing surgery and recovery at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, he returned with the wheelchair, valued at $2,300, that disappeared from the porch of his home on Messer Street a week ago yesterday.

St. Clair said yesterday that he did not yet know who discovered the wheelchair, but expressed his appreciation. "There are no words to describe how happy I am to have my chair back." He said when the police called with a description of the wheelchair, he knew at once it was his and soon afterwards officers brought it to his door.

The day after the theft was reported, St. Clair had several offers of wheelchairs to replace it and for nearly a week used a wheelchair provided by ATech Services of Concord. "They were great and I was really grateful," St. Clair said, "I missed my chair because it enable me to elevate my leg."

Meanwhile, during the week St. Clair learned that "people I don't even know were walking the WOW Trail and around the neighborhood, taking their time, looking for my wheelchair and others were calling the police with offers to help." He recalled that Tilly, a greeter at Walmart, called to tell him that "she saw a guy in a wheelchair who looked suspicious, but it wasn't my chair."

"I am very humbled, thrilled and grateful by this experience," St. Clair said. "Overwhelmed really."