Port Angeles residents replace Canadian teen’s stolen shoes
PORT ANGELES, Wash. — When someone brandished pepper spray and stole a young Canadian tourist’s shoes last month, community members decided they wanted to make things right.
A 16-year-old boy was walking back to his hotel room Oct. 6 when a man pulled up on a BMX bike, brandished a can of “bear mace” and demanded the boy’s limited-edition red Air Jordan shoes. The family asked Port Angeles police not to publicize the teen’s name.
After hearing about the incident, community members decided to track down a new pair of shoes that they could return to the young man.
“I think like a lot of people, we were just bummed to hear that happened to someone who came to visit Port Angeles,” said the Rev. Joe DeScala of Mended, who helped. “I — like a lot of people I spoke to — felt for that young man, and we needed to make it right.”