MIDVALE, Utah — A Utah man whose positive outlook has never wavered, even after being paralyzed following a paragliding accident this fall, is facing a new challenge as he looks for help in finding his SUV that was stolen just last week.
Jared Potter has what his friends believe is an innate love for adventure.
"Pre-accident Jared was kind of a thrill seeker," shared friend Joshua Keys. "He did a lot of rock climbing, he did mountain biking, he was dabbling in paragliding, but his favorite thing was skiing, he loves to ski."
Even today, Potter still has an adventurous spirit.
"I truly believe our society would be a better place if people just spent a little extra time outside, whether that's gardening or getting in the mountains," he said.
But things look a little different since the October accident that happened as Potter was learning to paraglide at Point of the Mountain in Draper, leaving him paralyzed after suffering a serious spinal cord injury.
"It's a difficult grieving process to go from having full mobility to being significantly limited," he admitted.
To accommodate his new needs, Potter moved to a new ADA-accessible apartment, but on one of his final night's of moving, his SUV was stolen from the driveway at his old home in Sandy.
"We woke up and noticed my Toyota 4-Runner was not in the driveway," Potter said, "and in the moment of that happening, I honestly just kind of shrugged my shoulders and was like not surprised.
"What else can life throw at me?"
Sandy police say they received a report of a stolen vehicle, but as of Tuesday have failed to produce any suspects or leads.
"The [SUV] itself is pretty noticeable," said Keys. "It's a pretty tall 4-Runner with all the bells and whistles on it already, so it'll catch your eye if you see it. I've been actively looking for it on my drives to work, drives home, anytime I'm going to get food; my head is just on a swivel to see if it'll just pop up one day."
From the accident to his stolen SUV, Potter says in the past few months he's fully lived the saying, "When it rains it pours." But he still has a fearlessly positive attitude.
"Defining my own meaning of life has, I think, enabled me to have a positive outlook," he shared. "I get to decide how I feel on a particular day or not. I think with these new challenges of life that's challenged my positivity in my world, but at the same time I'm very thankful for my huge network supportive friends."
Anyone with information on Potter's gray Toyota 4-Runner is asked to contact the Sandy Police Department.
