Suspect in disabled boy's allegedly stolen wheelchair case 'seen on CCTV', mum says
This key development comes following The Source’s story which revealed that CCTV had not been formally requested by Met police before the case was closed within two hours of being opened.
The Source Exclusive: Suspect in disabled boy’s allegedly stolen wheelchair case ‘seen on CCTV’, mum says
Mum, Tamica Campbell says police have informed her that a suspect has been seen on obtained CCTV. This comes following The Source’s story which revealed that footage had not been formally requested by Met police leading them to reopen the case they closed after just two hours.
STORY BY MELISSA SIGODO
MARCH 4, 2026
A suspect in the case of a seven-year-old boy’s allegedly stolen wheelchair has been seen on CCTV, the child’s mother says.
The potentially key video footage was obtained by the Met police after The Source revealed that officers had not formally requested recordings before closing the investigation which was then reopened 24 hours later, following our findings.
Tamica Campbell from south east London says that on February 21 she discovered her son Teon’s powered wheelchair was missing from their gated parking bay after leaving it for “convenience” the day before when they went to visit her mum overnight.
Tamica then made a heartbreaking plea on the social media platform TikTok asking anyone with information to come forward, and her video soon went viral.
On that same day, she reported the incident to the Met police but within two hours of the case opening, officers then closed their investigation.
Now, almost two weeks since the wheelchair was taken, mum Tamica says police have informed her that a suspect has been seen on CCTV and an investigation is underway to find them.
Speaking exclusively to The Source, Tamica said: “I'm speechless right now. This shouldn't have taken this long [to get CCTV].”
Tamica says after receiving the latest update from police, she told her son Teon and his eyes lit up.
Tamica said: “I could see in his eyes that he was happy. I was letting him know, ‘we’re, going to find the bad guys’.”
Teon is non-verbal and was diagnosed with a movement and coordination condition, four-limb cerebral palsy which has left him unable to walk.
Tamica says that when her son realised his powered wheelchair was gone, he expressed his shock.
Speaking at the time, the mum said: “As soon as we pulled up, he was thinking, ‘why is mum carrying me?’ He said, ‘Where’s my car? my car is stolen, my car is stolen.’”
Timeline of events
February 21 - Tamica takes to social media asking for help after the wheelchair goes missing.
February 21 3.55pm - She reports the incident to the Met Police.
February 21 6.04pm - Met Police closes the case.
February 24 - Met police tells The Source that there were “attempts to retrieve CCTV” but the case was closed following “insufficient evidence”.
February 25 - Following The Source’s investigation into the handling of the case, we inform the Met Police that CCTV was not formally requested from security company by officers.
February 26 - The Met tells us that incident is now being reviewed to ensure procedures were followed correctly regarding obtaining CCTV.
February 27 - We publish our exclusive report on mum Tamica Campbell accusing the force of ableism after opening and closing her son’s case within two hours. We reveal that police had done so without formally requesting CCTV footage.
February 28 - Met police reopens the case and tells us that CCTV has been obtained and is being reviewed.
March 4 - Tamica tells The Source that police have seen a suspect on CCTV.
A GoFundMe has been launched to raise money to replace Teon’s custom wheelchair and it has now reached £13,513 surpassing its £6,500 goal.
Tamica says she is grateful for the outpouring of support from the public and the power of social media which has kept her son’s case in the spotlight.
But although she says she is hopeful that justice can be served, the mum says that she still needs answers from the Met police and that ‘someone needs to take responsibility’ for closing the case after two hours and before formally requesting CCTV.
Tamica said: “The question is, 'why did this take so long [to get CCTV]’, you know? What's the reason?
“There should have been more empathy rather than leaving it unresolved. I feel like no mum especially a mum whose kid has special needs should go through that.
“I definitely feel like there is a need for training around [cases involving] vulnerable kids.”
The Met police has told The Source that no officers are facing disciplinary action at this stage.
A spokesperson for The Met police said: “We are not providing any updates on CCTV as this is a live investigation.
“There is no disciplinary action at this stage.”