Woman Tricks Thief, Recovers Her Stolen Bike in One of the Coolest Ways Imaginable
A Canadian woman took matters into her own hands when her bike was stolen last week.
Kayla Smith followed the appropriate channels, filing a police report when her $1,000 bike went missing outside of an apartment building in Vancouver, even though it had been locked. But when she saw an ad on Craigslist featuring her bicycle the next morning for $300, she devised a way to get it back on her own, according to the Vancouver Sun.
Kayla Smith with her bike. (Photo via Imgur)
"[...] my friend calls me and says 'dude I think I found your bike craigslist' she gave me the number and I looked at the post," Smith recounted of the situation in a post on reddit. "He has posted from an address that was 2 blocks from where it was originally stolen. Immediately I called the police again and told them the information I received from my friend. The lady told me that someone would call me back and it might not be today. THIS GUY IS SELLING MY BIKE RIGHT NOW!!! I am not missing this opportunity waiting for a call. So I jump into action."
Smith responded to the ad as an interested party and set up a time with the seller to view the bike that day.
Meeting the seller in a McDonald's parking lot, Smith hopped on the bike for a quick test ride -- then just kept going.
"I just figured once I got away, I was going to be OK," she told the Vancouver Sun. "I hid around the corner with my girlfriend, Jen. He took off running."
"Being a modern day Robin Hood takes a lot out of you," Smith said of the situation later.
Police said they would have preferred if Smith had not handled the matter on her own, but "we're glad that she got her bike back and we're very glad that she was not hurt in the process," Vancouver Police Const. Brian Montague told the Sun.
This isn't the first time the victim of bike theft has turned into a vigilante, reclaiming his or her own bike. An Oregon man filmed his encounter with the person who stole his bike last year. Similarly, bikes aren't the only items subject to theft either. Earlier this year, a San Diego man tracked down the man who stole his iPhone -- and fought him for it.
(H/T: Daily Mail)
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