A happy ending to my stolen bike saga!
When I reported my bike stolen, the police and others suggested checking out
the local weekly swap meet. This morning, a friend picked me up early and
we headed over there. By mistake we ended up missing the parking lot
turn-off and parked in the swap meet area. By pure luck, we parked two rows
down from a big van that was FULL of bikes, and by even more luck my bike
was one of the two dozen he had pulled out and set up in his stall.
Now, as I mentioned in the original thread, I had never written down the
serial number of my bike, so I couldn't just go claim it. I called the
police, who showed up and said that if I could identify it as the same one
from the description in my police report, they could probably convince the
seller to turn it over.
The seller was in no mood to cooperate and was very argumentative with me as
I explained every mark and scratch on the bike. He had stripped off almost
all the accessories I'd put on it, but there were clear distinguishing marks
that I had described on the police report that were still evident.
Eventually one officer pulled him aside, and after a few minutes the officer
came back and told me to take the bike, it was mine. He later told me he
had asked the seller for his business license or tax info, neither of which
he had. When the officer said he would be forced to run a check on all the
serial numbers on all the bikes in his van for stolen property, the seller
quickly said he'd let me take the bike if we'd leave, and that was that!
I wish I'd been smart and written down the serial number, because then the
seller might actually be facing criminal charges. Who knows how many stolen
bikes he's fenced for thieves? I've resolved to keep a record of every
serial number of every item of value that I have, starting with my bike and
camera equipment, so that the next time this happens I will be better
prepared. Live and learn!
Thanks for reading,
John
--
http://www.jacelio.com
http://www.cafepress.com/jacelio
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