Thief steals $20K from ALS Association on night before annual walk

The ALS Association of Nevada is attempting to raise money after $20,000 worth of equipment was stolen the night before its annual Las Vegas walk.

An employee with a white 2005 Ford F350 packed 90 percent of the items needed into his truck Friday night and drove to his Henderson home. He parked the truck in the driveway of the gated neighborhood, where it stayed all day Saturday.

But just hours before the walk Sunday morning, the man woke up to find the truck was stolen.

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

Nearly 400 people walked on Sunday, but without lanyards, pins, T-shirts, signs or a starting arch. The organization had no merchandise to sell and no gifts for teams who had raised money.

“We do a display called ‘Walk in our shoes’,” Newburg said. “People donate stories from ALS patients about their lives and what they’ll miss, like riding motorcycles or holding their children.”

Ballet slippers, cowboy boots and cocktail waitresses’ heels were all stolen, Newburg said. Some of the shoes were from patients who have since died from the disease and cannot be replaced.

Newburg said the organization is now tallying the money they raised Sunday and will begin replacing items before their annual walk in Reno, which is set for May.

“Everyone was there for the purpose of the walk,” Newburg said, staying positive about the 41 teams who attended. “The material things were missing, but we had a fabulous day.”

Anyone interested in donating to help replace the items can do so through the organization’s website, alsanv.org.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.