Rolling through town in a plastic wagon is Jarrica Kerik’s only option for getting her children around after she says her larger stroller wagon was stolen sometime between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
“I just got it, and it was my reprieve so I could walk all of them,” said Kerik.
The wagon was a Christmas gift to help Kerik, who is a single mother, wheel around her five kids after her van broke down. She says it was stolen from the yard of her Sutherland Avenue home.
“It would be nice if people could just leave your stuff alone,” said Kerik.
The wagon she’s now using won’t accommodate all five of her children.
“My son Dexen is not going to be able to fit which really sucks because on the way to school, it’s really essential because he has a hard time in the mornings getting going,” said Kerik.
The single mother left the wagon in the front yard overnight and woke up Wednesday morning to find it gone, along with her 10-year-old daughter’s hand-painted backpack.
“It said my name on it, and it had a bunch of my stuff in it,” said her daughter, Nevaeh.
The Grade 5 student says she also had her new Stanley brand water bottle and journal stolen.
In hopes of finding their items, Kerik posted on a community Facebook page. A good Samaritan later spotted the wagon, but her family’s trouble continued when it was recovered.
Kerik said she found drug paraphernalia in the wagon and does not feel comfortable using it. Her concerns amplified by what she said happened to the father of her older children when he went to retrieve it.
“He is actually in the hospital right now and they gave him Narcan because he came into contact with some substances getting my things back,” said Kerik.
In an update on Wednesday evening, Kerik said he had been released from hospital.
“We remind everyone to phone the RCMP to report an offence when it happens or as soon as they become aware of it,” said Cpl. Michael Gauthier in a statement to Global News.
“The same goes for when someone believes they may have located stolen property, phone the police to ensure a safe and lawful resolution,” the statement added.
Kerik says replacing the wagon will now cost hundreds of dollars she doesn’t have.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help the family replace the items that were stolen and for a shed to help prevent a similar theft in the future.