Softball player sidelined when prosthetic 'sports leg' stolen

TEMPLE CITY, Calif. (AP) -- A thief walked off with 16-year-old Melissa Huff's prosthetic leg, sidelining the high school softball player from the game she loves.
The leg costs about $5,000 to $7,000, but can't really be used by anyone else because it was custom made.
"It's not something you can just sell on the street. Something like that, it's just cruel," Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Tim Phillips said of the theft.
The leg was taken sometime Tuesday afternoon by a thief who cut a hole in a window screen, entered Huff's home in this suburb about 12 miles east of Los Angeles and also took video games, about $1,500 in school fund-raising certificates and other items.
The stolen limb is a special shock-absorbent "sports leg" with a flexible foot that allows Huff to play softball. She has other prosthetic legs, including the one she was wearing the day of the burglary.
The Arcadia High School sophomore's right leg had to be amputated two years ago after she was struck by a car. Just four months after the accident, she was back playing competitive softball.
"It's really frustrating, because I've had to strive and work hard to get back on my feet," Huff said.