Maplewood police seek stolen van used to transport disabled clients
Police in Maplewood are asking for help finding a stolen van used to transport disabled clients of a day training and employment program.
TSE Incorporated says the van was stolen over the weekend from the company's transportation center in Maplewood.
The Roseville-based company uses 32 vans to get more than 300 developmentally disabled clients to and from their jobs. Three of its vans are equipped with lifts to accommodate people with physical disabilities.
TSE president Lynne Megan said the stolen van had a lift and by Sunday night, its GPS locator was disabled.
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Transportation is a key part of the support that TSE offers its clients to keep them at work. The vans typically put on 3,000 miles a month shuttling clients. In her more than a dozen years with TSE, Megan said the company hasn't had any vans go missing before, and she is grateful for that.
She says the stolen van can't be quickly replaced.
"We're a nonprofit, we've been around 55-56 years and struggle every single day. It's that constant battle that we're always working on," she said.
Police say the van is a white, 2011 Econoline with a raised, flat roof and license plate VP3245. It has a TSE sticker in the back window.
They're asking anyone who sees the van to contact police.