Sissonville , Kanawha County , West Virginia

An elderly couple in Sissonville says the storm has turned into a near nightmare, and now they have become victims of thieves.

Arthur Pauley and his wife Miranda are like any other of the 39,000 people in Kanawha County still left in the dark. They have lived in a home on Derrick's Creek Road for several years.

But they say what happened Tuesday morning has diminished their trust in their community.

"Just because people wave at you up and down the holler, doesn't mean they're your friend," said Arthur.

Arthur says his nephew dropped off a large generator to their home earlier in the week after losing electricity in Friday night's storm and they were thrilled to have it.

But he says what happened the next morning stole that joy.

"My neighbor was knocking on my door saying someone just stole your generator and put it in the back of their truck and took off with it," he said.

The Pauleys say a thief swiped their generator while it was still running within the blink of an eye.

What's worse, Arthur has Polio and struggles to walk. He says the crooks knew what they were doing. "I've got braces on both of my legs, an arm that barely works. And I can't chase them. They set me up," he said.

Lt. Bryan Robbins from the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office says thieves will do whatever they can for a quick buck. "They utilize these types of situations to prey on people, the scams start to pop up, and then the theft," said Robbins.

Luckily, the Pauleys had a second, smaller generator for a fan and a lamp. And that generator is now chained up outside.

"I think he'll be sorry. Even if he doesn't get caught. There will be payback one of these days," said Arthur.

The thieves are looking at a felony charge of grand larceny if the generator was more than $1,000.

Police say this type of crime could get worse so the best thing to do is look out for your neighbors and report any suspicious activity.

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