Advertisement Tricycle stolen from Rocklin woman with rare genetic disorder Woman uses trike for transportation, enjoys riding in 4th of July parades Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A Rocklin woman with a rare genetic disorder is missing her bike, and with it her independence. The $1,000 three-wheeler was stolen off her mother’s front porch in Roseville.The bike was a gift to Teresa Sharpan, 43, who has Prader-Willi Syndrome that, among other things, affects her balance.When her family got her the bike in 2010, it was the first time she was able to ride on her own.“I try to see that Teresa can be as independent and do as much as she possibly can,” her mother Ann Sharpan said. “It was one more thing that she could do.”When Ann Sharpan stepped out of her home Monday morning, the bike was missing. Thieves had wandered onto her front porch in the 200 block of Sierra Boulevard and cut the cable that locked the bike to the railing.“I felt so responsible to my daughter because I had lost her bike. It happened while I was watching,” Ann Sharpan said.For three of the last four years, Teresa Sharpan has ridden her trike in Roseville’s annual Fourth of July parade, something she’s never been able to do before. She decorates the bike in red, white and blue and always gets cheers and waves from the crowd.“It’s fun, my dog rode in the basket. I wore my clown suit my mom made for me,” Teresa Sharpan said.Since the bike is valued at $1,000, stealing it is considered grand theft, a felony.“It does happen around here, and so if people have especially expensive bikes, we always encourage them to keep them in a locked garage or inside or something like that,” Roseville police spokesperson Dee Dee Gunther said.Several community members have already reached out to the Sharpans, and offered to help them buy a new bike.It's no longer decorated in red white and blue. The tricycle had flat tires, so the thief might have pushed it or hauled it away in a vehicle, police said.Anyone with information is asked to call the Roseville Police Department at 916-774-5000.