Lorenzo writes:
In the (very!) wee hours of last night’s snowstorm, an honorable neighbor intercepted a woman with two bikes north of our QFC. Nice bikes. Stolen bikes. Bikes now in my possession, and eager to return to their owners. (I know my bike would be eager to return to me.) So I’d be pleased to facilitate, if you can describe your steeds in sufficient detail, of course. One is blue, the other black. One seems like “his,” the other “hers.” Matching? Maybe–you tell me.
But seriously, as a victim of this kind of crime, I’m happy to help and wish we could’ve done justice to the thief (not that there’s much to do in this day and age).
[Other Wallyhood editor note: I was the neighbor that intercepted the woman with the bikes. I will spare everyone the long story and jump to the conclusion. The woman talked with me quite calmly for about 5-10 minutes. She had an explanation for all my questions even though facts clearly suggested she was not telling the truth. When I mentioned it might be easier to have the police sort it out, she said both bikes were her brothers and walked away. She was brazen and unconcerned that I had seen her. When I called the police after she left, it was clear this was not a priority. When I asked if they had a suggestion for what to do with the bikes, the police suggested just leaving them leaning against the retaining wall. I took from this that fighting this sort of low-level crime will come down to neighbors watching neighbors. Glad I live in this neighborhood. Also thanks to Lorenzo for trusting some random guy walking his dog at far too early in the morning.- Ben]
I’ll take this opportunity to mention that I found a bike in the street a month or so back, as well. A photo of the side of it is below. If you’re the owner, just let me know, and it’s yours again.
I also have a bike at my church diamondback with pink helmet but no seat 206 226 5299
The one I found had no seat as well. Seats are more valuable than bikes?
A lot of times, the owners will take the seats with them (especially if it is an expensive or custom seat). It also prevents a thief from stealing the bike and RIDING off on it. I saw this as standard practice when I lived in San Francisco as well as scruffy looking guys carrying bikes without seats.
Good on you.
Just to be clear, the photo posted is NOT either of the bikes that we are trying to return. And as of Wednesday Feb. 8 at 8:30 p.m., both bikes are still unclaimed. I will continue to do what I can for a while before turning them over to SDOT (since the SPD are not in the business of returning stolen property). SDOT donates bikes to charity after a holding period, so I imagine it’s as much of a crapshoot dealing with them as it is scanning neighborhood sites. Thanks for your help.
Hello! We just discovered two of our bikes (and helmets) were stolen from our garage. I am happy to provide photos of both bikes to verify. Two tents were also stolen. We just filed a police report this morning.
We heard voices/footsteps on our front porch around 3:30 a.m. on Monday…we have no idea how they got into our garage. Can I get in touch with you over the phone somehow?? We are so relieved to have honest, helpful neighbors. Thank you!!
Have you looked at the bikeindex.org website to see if the stolen bikes are registered there?
OWNERS FOUND. Thanks helpers!