‘Can’t just go down to Walmart and get another one,’ man seeks owner of lost prosthesis

By Hannah Mackenzie

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    MCDOWELL COUNTY, North Carolina (WLOS) — A McDowell County man is working to reunite a lost prosthesis with its rightful owner.

The prosthesis, custom fit for a right lower leg amputee, was found on March 11 in the middle of U.S. 221 near Marion. William Baker, who is also an amputee, is now in possession of the prosthetic leg.

“[The goal is to] get it back to the guy so he can, hopefully, start wearing it again,” Baker said. “It’s not like you can get another one, like you can’t just go down to Walmart and get another one.”

Baker lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident 16 years ago. He is in the process of getting a new prosthesis and knows how frustrating it is to be confined to crutches.

“It can be debilitating,” Baker said. “It makes you give up.”

Baker reached out to social media for help in finding the prosthesis’ owner. He said he got a lot of feedback and one potential solid lead. Someone commented saying they saw a man with a missing leg on a moped in the same area.

“I’m sure what happened is he strapped it to the back of his moped; he probably didn’t realize where he had lost it at,” Baker said. “He latches it and unlocks it with [a pin], so probably when he’s riding his moped, he was afraid of bumping [the pin], and it would come off.”

There are lot and reference numbers on the prosthesis, meaning someone with access to those types of records could look them up.

“It’s got a name on it somewhere, paperwork it’s in a computer somewhere,” Baker said.

The irony of this situation is not lost on Baker.

“He doesn’t have a leg to stand on,” Baker said with a smirk. “Nobody out there has got a one-legged joke that I ain’t heard.”

But if your comments aren’t constructive, Baker said, keep them to yourself.

“Everybody wants to be funny but I don’t got time for it,” Baker said. “I’m just trying to help someone out.”

Baker estimated the prosthesis costs about $25,000, but he added, you can’t put a price on the freedom this piece of titanium provides.

“Once you get used to it, there’s nothing that can stop you,” Baker said. “You just feel like you can do a whole lot more, not depressed all the time, makes a big difference.”

If you know who the prosthesis belongs to or have any information that could help reunite it with its owner, please reach out to the WLOS newsroom by emailing news@wlos.com or calling 828-651-4567. You can also reach anchor/reporter Hannah Mackenzie directly at hmackenzie@sbgtv.com.

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