Student tracks down stolen bike to Toronto store
The rider took the right course of action with the dodgy shop
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A student at Toronto Metropolitan University recently recounted his experience of recovering his stolen ebike within less than 24 hours from an unmarked store in downtown Toronto. The student, identified only by his first name, Jason, shared his story with CTV News. According to Jason, he had parked his electric bike at an intersection close to his school.
Only had one lock on day
Normally, Jason carries two locks, but since he was running late, he only had one–a less secure lock–to fasten his bike. When he returned, all that remained of his bicycle was a solitary wheel.
“I was pretty disappointed and I was confused how my bike would be stolen in such a busy foot traffic area,” he explained. “I gave them all the information on the bike, where it happened, what time it was, and then I just asked them to be honest on what the recovery rate of the bike is. They told me it was pretty low, which is not surprising.”
The student wanted to find his bike, so he decided to take matters into his own hands.
Chances of getting bike back was slim
“I knew there was literally no chance of getting my bike back, if I relied on the police, they just wouldn’t prioritize that. The same night it happened I just scouted the area of where my bike would possibly be and then I just found this really sketchy bike shop with no name, with a bunch of bike parts inside,” he said. “I went back there the next day pretending to be a customer to go inside and then I saw my bike, and that’s when I contacted the police.”
Jason said that he dialed 911 and, after waiting for 30 minutes without any response, he decided to locate a nearby police officer and ushered them into the store himself. He then pointed to his bike and explained it was his, and then proceeded to question the store owner about how they acquired the bike. The employee explained that someone had brought it in the day before to sell it to him. The officer then asked the store owner more questions and said that selling stolen property could land them in hot water.
Toronto police also put out a statement after the incident saying that what Jason did was a good strategy, saying that civilians asking an officer to help them retrieve stolen goods was much safer than trying to get it themselves. “If officers are at a scene dealing with a more immediate issue or with something that could be potentially dangerous, they may ask you to contact 911 or recommend that you call our non-emergency line at 416-808-2222,” the statement read. The police also confirmed that there had been no arrests made but they were investigating the store.
