I usually think of summer as high season for bike theft; but maybe thieves are so desperate for extra cash this time of year they are looking to change that. From Thanksgiving Thursday (11/22) to this past Sunday (11/25), we had 15 bikes posted to the Stolen Bike Listings. On Sunday alone, there were seven bikes listed! And now I've just heard of a crazy bike theft attempt that happened in broad daylight on November 18th.

According to reader Jonathan R., who lives in Ladd's Addition just south of SE Hawthorne Blvd around 20th, he and his neighbors saw a brazen bike theft attempt right before their very eyes. There was a foot chase, an attempted escape, and then, thankfully, an arrest.

Here's how Jonathan remembers it:

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Ian Collins' stolen bike turned up at the Bike Gallery
in downtown Portland.
(Photos courtesy Ian Collins)

Ian Collins had his Cannondale stolen off his porch in Northeast Portland back in August. Now, thanks to the quick thinking of the Bike Gallery employee, he's got a lead on a suspect and he's hoping more people seeing the photo might lead to the bike's recovery.

An employee of the Bike Gallery store in downtown Portland (at SW 10th and Salmon) took action after she saw a suspicious customer come into their shop. She looked up the bike on the BikePortland Stolen Bike Listings, found a match, then photographed the man who brought it in before he left the shop.

Here's the photo of the suspected thief: (more...)

Our friends with the Safe Routes to School program in Eugene have just announced the theft of an entire fleet of bikes used in their bike education classes. Program manager Shane MacRhodes says a trailer containing 40 Bike Friday bicycles and related gear totaling about $30,000 was stolen from a parking lot at Prarie Mountain School in West Eugene.

Here's more from MacRhodes:
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Stolen, then re-united with its owner.
(Photo: Tanya Barham)

A distinctive trike that was stolen on Tuesday is now back in hands of its owner.

Buckman neighborhood resident Tanya Barham imported the Christiania trike from Denmark in 2006. When it was stolen from outside of a building at East Burnside and 8th, thieves not only got an expensive and rare cargo bike, they also took her only form of transportation. Tanya doesn't own a car and she uses the bike to get to work and to take her daughter to school. Hoping to get it back, she quickly posted the information to Craigslist and listed it on BikePortland. Her many friends in Portland also spread the word through social networks.

Just before noon today, Tanya shared that the bike had been recovered. "Several people who saw my postings on Craigslist, saw a man riding the bike down 39th near Woodstock. Two men chased the perp and others phoned in the sighting. The police apprehended the man and the bike is back." (more...)

It's been clear to us around here for many years that when it comes to recovering stolen bikes, it's not just technology and the long arm of the law that's going to solve the problem; it's good, old-fashioned community. As I shared last month, people helping people has been a mainstay of the many stolen bike recoveries I've heard about and covered over the years.

Just this week I've come across two more examples that are worth your attention.

KPTV (Fox) aired a story last night about a man who paid $40 for what he knew was a stolen bike, simply so he could return it to its owner. Here's more from their story: (more...)

One of four frames taken.
(Photos: Renovo)

Renovo Hardwood Bicycles, a bike manufacturing company located in inner southeast Portland, was broken into over the weekend. Four of their high-end frames with a total retail value of $13,900 were stolen. Now the company is offering $2,000 in rewards for information on the thieves and the return of the frames.

Employee Drew Nasto says the thieves were pretty clumsy. First they attempted to scramble up over a roll-up door via a ladder, table, and two stacked garbage bins — only to realize there was no ladder on the other side. After they aborted that attempt, Nasto says they used a shovel to pry off a door handle to enter the building. The alarm sounded immediately, "which gave them only enough time to grab four finished frames from a rack by the door and run," he shared. (more...)

Bryan Hance has helped the PPB
get better at catching bike thieves.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Southeast Portland resident Bryan Hance has received a "Distinguished Service Medal" from the Portland Police Bureau. Hance is the man behind StolenBicycleRegsitry.com. Back in 2009 he stepped in to resurrect the Stolen Bike Listings on BikePortland and shortly thereafter we linked him up with the Portland Police Bureau. Over the past few years, Hance has worked with the PPB to beam local stolen bike data into the on-board computers of police cars.

Last week, at a ceremony at David Douglas High Shool, the PPB honored Hance as well as other officers and community members for their service to the public.

By day, Hance is a database programmer and web expert. But his true passion is to use his software skills to foil bike thieves. As his popular "Death to Bike Thieves" sticker makes blatantly clear, Hance wants to rid the earth of the lowly criminal that would steal someone's wheels. (more...)

10 of these bikes, as well as six others, remain missing.
(Photo: Bike Clark County)

The Vancouver Police Department announced this morning that they have arrested two men for stealing bicycles that were used by non-profit Bike Clark County (BCC) in their kids programs.

From the VPD media release:

... they arrested Matthew Robert Smith, 27 and Jory John Aultman, 19. They were booked for Burglary II and Trafficking Stolen Property... One bicycle was recovered and other bicycles are believed to still be in the neighborhood. Anyone with information on these bicycles, or the burglary, is asked to call Vancouver Police Det. Adam Millard at (360) 487-7449. The investigation is continuing.

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Portlander Jake Gillum poses triumphantly after his
successful police sting in Seattle.
(Photo: Jake Gillum)

It's been a good few days for bike lovers and a bad few days for bike thieves. In the past week I've come across three local bike recovery stories that deserve your attention. Each one of them shows the power of social networks and a community knows how — and cares enough — to use them.

The first is a wild saga six years in the making. As reported last week, Justin Labo, who had his bike stolen from a storage unit in San Francisco, found his bike on Craigslist in Portland. Unfortunately, after trying to contact the seller, the bike was sold and vanished again. A massive social media campaign was launched by Justin's friends and lo and behold, the bike was found on Saturday. The remarkable story of how it all happened has been documented by Jenny Oh Hatfield.

"So what have we learned from this?" she wrote on her blog, "I think most importantly, the biggest takeaway is to never give up; you never know when you may find your stolen bicycle. It may take 4 days or 6 years, but keep the faith." (more...)

The stolen bikes.
(Photo: Vancouver PD)

Yesterday afternoon, Vancouver Police responded to a burglary and theft call at the Hough Pool/Recreation Center and discovered 29 bicycles had been stolen. The bikes were used by the non-profit Bike Clark County to teach kids bike safety and were being stored in the rec center prior to the theft.

Now the Vancouver PD — and the entire community — is on the lookout for the bikes. According to the VPD, the bikes were mostly silver in color with only a few solid blue bicycles. The brand of bikes is "MTX" and the words 'two twenty five' is part of the logo. Anyone with information on this burglary and theft is asked to contact the Vancouver Police Department West Neighborhood Response Team Detective Adam Millard at (360) 487-7449.

Below are a few more detail shots of the bikes (images courtesy of VPD): (more...)