Cops searching for arms, legs

CLEAR LAKE, Iowa - Police are looking for a hand — well, actually an arm and a leg — in solving the theft of prosthetic limbs from a local business. The prosthetic arm and leg were taken about a month ago from Tom Leisure Prosthetics in Clear Lake, police said.

Leisure said the limbs, which belonged to different women, have a total value of nearly $30,000. But he said the cost goes well beyond the monetary value.

"You can't assign a price tag to being able to walk or to function," he said.

While the limbs haven't been found, the arm has been replaced. Dorothy Wolfe, of Emmetsburg, the customer who ordered the leg, is still waiting.

"Why would someone do this?" she asked. "I have no idea what's in their mind."

Nonetheless, Wolfe said she was able to see the humor in what police believe is a bad prank.

"I thought it was funny," she said. "It cost an arm and a leg."