South Dakota pitcher’s prosthetic arm found at recycling facility

A college baseball player from South Dakota whose prosthetic arm was stolen got it back Tuesday after it was found at a recycling plant.

Augustana’s Parker Hanson, a right-handed pitcher, was born without a left hand, but found a way to adapt at a young age so he could play baseball. His prosthetic arm and the attachments were in a backpack that was stolen from his vehicle outside his home.

Hanson got a text Tuesday saying that his arm had been recovered at Millennium Recycling Inc. in Sioux Falls, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported. A worker at the plant found it among other items in the recycling facility and picked it out.

Hanson discovered his backpack missing May 3 and took to social media to vent. The next day the Sioux Falls Police Department recovered a backpack with some of the prosthetic’s attachments. At the same time, Hanson’s story became widely shared and people started fundraising for a replacement arm.

Workers Nate Riddle and Tim Kachel found Hanson’s arm Monday while working a shift picking out nonrecyclable items from the line. When Riddle picked out the prosthetic, he almost threw it away. Before he got the chance, Kachel stopped him. Kachel keeps up with news and remembered hearing Hanson’s story.

Riddle and Kachel met Hanson for the first time Tuesday. While Hanson’s happy to recover his prosthetic,“it is pretty banged up,” he said. He learned later that he will receive a new one for free from a hospital, and the money from his fundraiser will go to charity.