Nevada Thief Steals Thousands of Dollars’ Worth of Items Needed for ALS Walk

Posted on: November 15, 2022, 10:28h. 

Last updated on: November 16, 2022, 07:03h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Police are searching for the criminal who swiped a truck over the weekend in Henderson, Nev. Inside was $15K to $20K worth of items for Sunday’s ALS Association North Las Vegas charity walk.

Walkers at this weekend's ALS charity walk in North Las Vegas
Walkers at this weekend’s ALS charity walk in North Las Vegas, pictured above. Hours before the walk, many items needed to ensure its success were stolen. (Image: KSNV)

The stolen items also include lanyards, pins, signs, and T-shirts. The merchandise was planned to be sold during the Southern Nevada Walk to Defeat ALS and gifts for teams, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Most sentimental to the charity and walkers are missing shoes. ALS patients and others donated footwear to help the public understand what it is like to “walk in their shoes.” These include ballet slippers, cowboy boots, and cocktail waitresses’ heels.

Return of Items Requested

The ALS Association wants the thief to return the missing items.

“I would just say none of this that is in the truck has any meaning to this person,” Dawn Newburg, executive director of the ALS Association Nevada Chapter, told the Review-Journal.

“It would be fabulous if I came to work in the morning and everything was right outside our front door — no questions asked.”

Just please drop everything off in a parking lot,” Newburg further told KVVU, a local TV station. “No questions asked. We will take it. Just go do what you are doing for whatever reason, but if we could have some of those items back, that would be what we would hope.”

The ALS Association of Nevada is now trying to raise money to replace the missing items. They want to have new items by May when the ALS walk takes place in Reno. Or, ideally, the thief will return the missing items.

The missing truck, a white 2005 Ford F350, was stolen from the Henderson residence of an ALS Association employee. It was parked there Friday night. The residence is in a gated community.

$137K Raised

Despite the theft, Sunday’s North Las Vegas walk was a success. Some 400 walkers, divided into 41 teams, took part in the event, which was held at Craig Ranch Regional Park.

A team called “Joey and the marsupiALS” set the high-water mark for donations, raising $64,625 during the walk. Joey Porrello captained the 216-person team.

In total, $137,576 was raised from the entire walk, outpacing its goal of $110K.

ALS Explained

ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease formally known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Patients may no longer be able to speak, eat, move, and even breathe as the disease progresses. Currently, there is no cure for ALS.

ALS was first identified in 1869. It became better known in 1939 when it impacted New York Yankees star player Lou Gehrig, becoming better known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Gehrig was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. He passed away on June 2, 1941.