Family has stroller stolen while dining at Denny's in Vancouver
A parent is speaking out after his family’s stroller was stolen while dining at a Vancouver restaurant.
Andrew McIvor was downtown with his family on Aug. 23, his wife’s birthday weekend. He had dropped her off for a massage, and he took the kids — a four-year-old and a 20-month-old — out in a bike trailer that converts to a stroller.
He and the kids then decided to go to the Denny’s on Davie and Thurlow for pancakes.
They arrived at the downtown Vancouver restaurant at about 10:30 a.m., and staff directed McIver to put the stroller near the restaurant’s high chairs before they sat down at a table.
McIvor said he remembered that he had folded up the stroller with his coffee cup inside, and went to retrieve it so it wouldn’t make a mess. His 20-month-old was in one arm.
“It was just a few minutes. But then I went back to where my stroller was, and I was like, ‘Oh, it’s not there.'”
McIvor first assumed that a staff member had moved it, so he went to the back of the restaurant to look for it. He then asked the host if they had moved it, who told him they hadn’t. He then escalated the issue to management, who eventually checked their video footage and realized that someone had stolen it.
“And that’s when I had a couple of other patrons in the restaurant come to me. One gentleman who was waiting to sit down. He’s like, ‘Was that your stroller?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah.’ ‘Oh, I saw [someone] take it out without any kids, and I thought that was strange.'”
McIvor then called the Vancouver Police Department’s (VPD) non-emergency police line to report the incident. He said that police officers arrived at the restaurant minutes later to talk to him and review the footage.
The VPD told Daily Hive that it received this report at 10:45 a.m., and they then went to the Vancouver restaurant to speak with the complainant.
“An area search was conducted with negative results. At this time, there are no suspects and no active leads,” the VPD said in an email. “Pending any new information coming forward, this case has been closed.”
McIvor was impressed with the quick police response, but he said it felt “terrible” to know that someone had taken his stroller.
“I know someone is literally walking away with my stroller right now, and I’m furious inside, because someone just stole this from me, but I got my two little kids with me right now, so I kind of have to maintain my composure, and their only priority is getting their pancakes.”
But he gave kudos to their server, saying she was very empathetic, bringing them extra crayons to keep the kids busy and discounting their meal by 50 per cent.
Why is the stroller important?
McIvor reflected fondly on the memories he and his daughter had with the stroller, which he used to take her to and from daycare.
“She loved it, and we actually always had a lot of fun together,” he said.
The night before, McIvor said they would do “pretend safety checks,” where she would check to ensure all the lights were working. She would get to pick a toy and one snack to take with her.
McIvor recalls the first day he picked her up from daycare and the challenges of riding up some of the steep hills in Vancouver.
“I remember totally underestimating how hard it was going to be. We’re going up the first hill, and she’s in the back singing ‘Baby Bumblebee.’ And when she stopped singing, she started yelling at me to go faster. And I’m like, ‘I’m trying.’ And there’s this older couple on the side looking at us, smiling the whole time because they’re walking faster than I’m biking. So it was kind of funny.”
There were also some toys in the stroller that had sentimental value, including his daughter’s Anna and Elsa figurines the family had gotten while camping in Chilliwack, which were “like a little memento.”
“She just kept asking me, ‘When are we going to get Elsa and Anna back?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, it’s not going to come back. Someone took it from us.'”
McIvor reached out to Denny’s to see if they could help them with a replacement. While the restaurant chain initially offered him a $60 credit toward a dinner for two — and then offered him a $150 gift card — they have since asked him what he thought would be a fair resolution for replacing the stroller and are reviewing the matter internally.
Daily Hive reached out to Denny’s with a request for comment but did not hear back.