Losing a brand-new bike is rough for any 8-year-old, but this particular theft came after the boy and his family had already lost far more. According to a press release by the City of Spokane, the child’s father told officers at the Spokane Police Department that the bike had been purchased after their family lost everything in the Spokane Complex Fires.
The father flagged down an SPD sergeant near River Park Square at around 8:30 p.m. on August 20 after discovering his son’s red CO-OP bike and helmet were gone. The family had arrived at the mall around 5:45 p.m., and police say the bike had been secured to a rack before it disappeared.
Officers reviewed surveillance footage and spotted a person wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and face mask taking the boy’s bike. Interestingly enough, police say the person arrived at the location riding a different bicycle before leaving with the child’s.
The responding sergeant then distributed photographs of the stolen bike to patrol officers in hopes someone would recognize it. It would take less than a day for that extra set of eyes to pay off.
An Officer Recognized the Bike the Next Day
On August 21, an SPD officer spotted what appeared to be the stolen bike near South State Street and West Pacific Avenue. Rather than relying on appearance alone, the officer checked its serial number and confirmed it matched the one belonging to the 8-year-old.
Police were then able to return the bike to the boy, giving the family at least one piece of good news after everything they had already endured. The department did not say whether the child’s helmet was also recovered.
The person seen taking the bicycle remains unidentified, however, and police have not announced an arrest in connection with the theft. For now, the case ends with the bike back where it belongs, even if the person accused of taking it remains out there.
More Than Just a Stolen Bike
The circumstances surrounding the theft give the recovery considerably more weight than the average stolen-bike case. The bicycle wasn’t simply a new possession for an 8-year-old; his father told police it was something he bought after the family lost everything in the Spokane Complex Fires.
The recovery also came together through relatively simple police work, from checking surveillance footage to circulating a photograph among patrol officers. Most importantly, the officer who spotted the bicycle verified its serial number before returning it, removing any doubt that the recovered bike was the child’s.
The theft suspect may still be unidentified, but at least one part of this story received a happy ending. After losing his bike only hours earlier, the 8-year-old had it back the very next day.