A local photographer is hoping for the safe return of his van, which was stolen Friday morning along with 80 per cent of his camera equipment and his custom wheelchair, which were inside.

Steve Gerecke, right, poses with his daughter Kayla Gerecke. Gerecke's van was stolen last week along with most of his camera equipment and a custom wheelchair. (Facebook)

"This has hurt me in so many ways," said Steve Gerecke, who has been a freelance photographer in Ottawa for years. "As soon as I start thinking about it, even just talking right now, it's moving me quite a bit."

Gerecke's van functioned like a mobile office, ready to go whenever an assignment came along.

He traveled to Kingston with his daughter, and when he came back to his Ottawa home on Friday, the red 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan was gone.

"Everything in there was important to me for my survival, my livelihood, my transportation through my vehicle and of course the extension of that through my wheelchair," Gerecke said by phone Sunday. "It's limited me in so many ways. Again I'm just trying not to think about it too much and just trust that something good will come of this, you know?"

Offers, messages of support flooding in

The camera equipment included lenses, tripods, lighting equipment and backdrops.

He said other photographers have offered to lend him their own equipment, and online, messages of support have been flooding onto his Facebook page every few minutes.

"The overwhelming support … hasn't given me time to think about the huge impact that this is going to make," he said. "Every now and then I think, 'Oh no, what am I going to do about that, oh no, what am I going to do about this,' and I'm really trying not to think about it because there's not a lot I can do at this time, except for wait. I've just been trying to focus on all the positive things through Facebook and the media response. It's literally overwhelming me to tears and I find it hard to shed tears about anything. It's so overwhelming, the response that I'm getting."

Gerecke has one camera and some miscellaneous equipment left.

People are offering to host fundraisers, others are canvassing certain parts of town, even taxi drivers, gas station attendants and people he knows in the pizza delivery service are on the lookout, he said.

The van's license plate is BLJA-099.