DENMARK, N.S. – Vivian Dunphy’s car is coming home.
The 2011 Kia, stolen from Hilden and driven to Calgary in December, is being shipped home by rail after leaving that city earlier this week, her son Dennis said.
After it was stolen, the car was located in Calgary where it had been impounded by the city. Although the city agreed to waive the impound fees, Vivian Dunphy, 71, of Denmark was still looking at a cost of more than $2,000 to have her car shipped home.
To assist with those costs, her son set up a Gofundme page which, as of Friday, had generated $2,025 towards a goal of $3,702.
On Friday Dennis said it was his understanding the vehicle had departed Calgary by train on Tuesday, although he was reluctant to share more details until he was sure it had arrived safely in Halifax.
He also would not say how much it cost to get the vehicle shipped home other than to say, “I got a good deal.”
Dennis said he doesn’t know whether the car had sustained damage during the period after it was stolen. If it did, he said any money left over after shipping costs are covered from the crowdfunding account will be used to pay for repairs.
Dennis also said he was very appreciative to everyone who contributed to the cause and also to the person who gave his mother another vehicle after hers had been stolen.
Vivian was working as a caregiver for another elderly woman in Hilden when the theft occurred. It was cold day, Vivian said, and she had started her car to let it warm up before taking the other woman grocery shopping. She went back inside to help the other woman get ready but when she came out about five minutes later, the car was gone.
After learning what happened, the sister of the woman she was caring for gave her a 2010 Suzuki so she would not be left without a vehicle.
“So the two of them were kind of stuck there and not able to get around and I had an extra car that I was going to do something with, sell it or whatever,” the woman said. “It had quite a bit of mileage on it and so I just decided … I’ll just give this to Vivian and that way they’ll be able to get around and so on.”
Dennis said the car was expected to take about two weeks after its departure to arrive in Halifax.
