Thieves steal thousands of dollars in sports gear from Tri-Cities Special Olympics athletes

Tri-Cities Special Olympics athletes are out thousands of dollars in equipment after thieves broke into a storage locker in Kennewick.

Kennewick police are searching for the thieves who cut a lock off the unit at 5203 Canal Drive on Monday evening. They loaded up bicycles, several Sun brand adult tricycles, snowboards and bags of ski and snowboarding equipment.

All of it is used by Special Olympics competitors so they can compete in the summer and winter events. They also use the equipment for training, and many athletes may not have access to it otherwise.

The theft wasn’t discovered until Wednesday.

Anyone who knows something about the break-in is asked to contact Kennewick police through the non-emergency dispatch number 509-628-0333.

“Someone knows who is responsible for this crime,” Kennewick police said. “If anyone in the area has security cameras that point towards the street, please check them for suspicious vehicles during the evening hours of May 18.”

This story was originally published May 21, 2020 at 12:36 PM.